| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Crito by Plato: your friends, when I reflect that the whole business will be attributed
entirely to our want of courage. The trial need never have come on, or
might have been managed differently; and this last act, or crowning folly,
will seem to have occurred through our negligence and cowardice, who might
have saved you, if we had been good for anything; and you might have saved
yourself, for there was no difficulty at all. See now, Socrates, how sad
and discreditable are the consequences, both to us and you. Make up your
mind then, or rather have your mind already made up, for the time of
deliberation is over, and there is only one thing to be done, which must be
done this very night, and if we delay at all will be no longer practicable
or possible; I beseech you therefore, Socrates, be persuaded by me, and do
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Collected Articles by Frederick Douglass: I consented, and he called me by my present name--the one by which
I have been known for three and forty years--Frederick Douglass.
Mr. Johnson had just been reading the "Lady of the Lake,"
and so pleased was he with its great character that he wished me
to bear his name. Since reading that charming poem myself,
I have often thought that, considering the noble hospitality
and manly character of Nathan Johnson--black man though he was--he,
far more than I, illustrated the virtues of the Douglas of Scotland.
Sure am I that, if any slave-catcher had entered his domicile
with a view to my recapture, Johnson would have shown himself like him
of the "stalwart hand."
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| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from King Lear by William Shakespeare: #STARTMARK#
1606
THE TRAGEDY OF KING LEAR
by William Shakespeare
Dramatis Personae
Lear, King of Britain.
King of France.
Duke of Burgundy.
Duke of Cornwall.
Duke of Albany.
Earl of Kent.
King Lear |
The fourth excerpt represents the element of Earth. It speaks of physical influences and the impact of the unseen on the visible world, and is drawn from The Light of Western Stars by Zane Grey: that I would not reveal the disgrace he had put upon you. If I
did he would kill me. Life is nothing to the American vaquero,
Senora. I promised to respect his command. But I did not tell
him you were his wife. He did not dream I had truly married you.
He went to fight for the freedom of my country--Senora, he is one
splendid soldier--and I brooded over the sin of my secret. If he
were killed I need never tell you. But if he lived I knew that I
must some day.
"Strange indeed that Senor Stewart and Padre Marcos should both
come to this ranch together. The great change your goodness
wrought in my beloved people was no greater than the change in
The Light of Western Stars |
