| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Ebb-Tide by Stevenson & Osbourne: boots, and the huge snouted helmets shining in rows along the
wall; ten complete outfits.
'The whole eastern half of my lagoon is shallow, you must
understand,' said Attwater; 'so we were able to get in the dress
to great advantage. It paid beyond belief, and was a queer sight
when they were at it, and these marine monsters'--tapping the
nearest of the helmets--'kept appearing and reappearing in the
midst of the lagoon. Fond of parables?' he asked abruptly.
'O yes!' said Herrick.
'Well, I saw these machines come up dripping and go down
again, and come up dripping and go down again, and all the
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from A Straight Deal by Owen Wister: calm is due to the common-sense of the race. It revealed itself in the
treaty at the close of our Revolution, and it has been the ultimate
controlling factor in English dealings with us ever since. And now I
reach the last of my large historic matters, the Civil War, and our war
with Spain.
Chapter XII: On the Ragged Edge
On November 6, 1860, Lincoln, nominee of the Republican party, which was
opposed to the extension of slavery, was elected President of the United
States. Forty-one days later, the legislature of South Carolina,
determined to perpetuate slavery, met at Columbia, but, on account of a
local epidemic, moved to Charleston. There, about noon, December 20th, it
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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 Whirligigs by O. Henry: the village lived the Coltranes. The road was now steep
and laborious, but the compensations were many. The
tilted aisles of the forest were opulent with leaf and bird
and bloom. The tonic air put to shame the pharma-
copæia. The glades were dark with mossy shade, and
bright with shy rivulets winking from the ferns and
laurels. On the lower side they viewed, framed in the
near foilage, exquisite sketches of the far valley swooning
in its opal haze.
Coltrane was pleased to see that his companion was
yielding to the spell of the hills and woods. For now
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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 Laches by Plato: NICIAS: I agree.
SOCRATES: And the knowledge of these things you call courage?
NICIAS: Precisely.
SOCRATES: And now let me see whether you agree with Laches and myself as
to a third point.
NICIAS: What is that?
SOCRATES: I will tell you. He and I have a notion that there is not one
knowledge or science of the past, another of the present, a third of what
is likely to be best and what will be best in the future; but that of all
three there is one science only: for example, there is one science of
medicine which is concerned with the inspection of health equally in all
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