| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Polity of Athenians and Lacedaemonians by Xenophon: the door of the oligarchs who entered upon the contract. But in the
case of engagements entered into by a democracy it is open to the
People to throw the blame on the single individual who spoke in favour
of some measure, or put it to the vote, and to maintain to the rest of
the world, "I was not present, nor do I approve of the terms of the
agreement." Inquiries are made in a full meeting of the People, and
should any of these things be disapproved of, it can at once discover
ten thousand excuses to avoid doing whatever they do not wish. And if
any mischief should spring out of any resolutions which the People has
passed in council, the People can readily shift the blame from its own
shoulders. "A handful of oligarchs[22] acting against the interests of
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Hellenica by Xenophon: [13] See below, "Hell." IV. vi. 1; ib. vii. 1; VI. v. 23.
Such was the strength of the two armies. The Boeotians, as long as
they occupied the left wing, showed no anxiety to join battle, but
after a rearrangement which gave them the right, placing the Athenians
opposite the Lacedaemonians, and themselves opposite the Achaeans, at
once, we are told,[14] the victims proved favourable, and the order
was passed along the lines to prepare for immediate action. The
Boeotians, in the first place, abandoning the rule of sixteen deep,
chose to give their division the fullest possible depth, and,
moreover, kept veering more and more to their right, with the
intention of overlapping their opponent's flank. The consequence was
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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 The Gods of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs: Tardos Mors himself, were it necessary. If it throws all Helium
into a bloody conflict, I shall go on with these plans to save
my Princess. Nothing shall stay me now short of death, and should
I die, my friends, will you take oath to prosecute the search for
her and bring her back in safety to her grandfather's court?"
Upon the hilt of his sword each of them swore to do as I had asked.
It was agreed that the battleships that were to be remodelled
should be ordered to Hastor, another Heliumetic city, far to
the south-west. Kantos Kan thought that the docks there,
in addition to their regular work, would accommodate at
least six battleships at a time. As he was commander-in-
The Gods of Mars |
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 Trooper Peter Halket of Mashonaland by Olive Schreiner: fire; "they say when he was Prime Minister down in the Colony he tried to
pass a law that would give their masters and mistresses the right to have
their servants flogged whenever they did anything they didn't like; but the
other Englishmen wouldn't let him pass it. But here he can do what he
likes. That's the reason some fellows don't want him to be sent away.
They say, 'If we get the British Government here, they'll be giving the
niggers land to live on; and let them have the vote, and get civilised and
educated, and all that sort of thing; but Cecil Rhodes, he'll keep their
noses to the grindstone.' 'I prefer land to niggers,' he says. They say
he's going to parcel them out, and make them work on our lands whether they
like it or not--just as good as having slaves, you know: and you haven't
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