| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from At the Earth's Core by Edgar Rice Burroughs: yet I marveled that they had no means of lighting
their way through these dark, subterranean passages.
So we crept along at a snail's pace, with much stumbling
and falling--the guards keeping up a singsong chant ahead
of us, interspersed with certain high notes which I found
always indicated rough places and turns.
Halts were now more frequent, but I did not wish to speak
to Dian until I could see from the expression of her face
how she was receiving my apologies. At last a faint
glow ahead forewarned us of the end of the tunnel,
for which I for one was devoutly thankful. Then at a sudden
At the Earth's Core |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from On Horsemanship by Xenophon: cavalry during "the retreat" ("Anab." III. iii. 8-20), and, as is
commonly believed, while serving under Agesilaus ("Hell." III. iv.
14) in Asia, 396, 395 B.C.
There is, it is true, a treatise on horsemanship written by Simon, the
same who dedicated the bronze horse near the Eleusinion in Athens[2]
with a representation of his exploits engraved in relief on the
pedestal.[3] But we shall not on that account expunge from our
treatise any conclusions in which we happen to agree with that author;
on the contrary we shall hand them on with still greater pleasure to
our friends, in the belief that we shall only gain in authority from
the fact that so great an expert in horsemanship held similar views to
On Horsemanship |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Theaetetus by Plato: In this uncertainty about the place of the Theaetetus, it seemed better, as
in the case of the Republic, Timaeus, Critias, to retain the order in which
Plato himself has arranged this and the two companion dialogues. We cannot
exclude the possibility which has been already noticed in reference to
other works of Plato, that the Theaetetus may not have been all written
continuously; or the probability that the Sophist and Politicus, which
differ greatly in style, were only appended after a long interval of time.
The allusion to Parmenides compared with the Sophist, would probably imply
that the dialogue which is called by his name was already in existence;
unless, indeed, we suppose the passage in which the allusion occurs to have
been inserted afterwards. Again, the Theaetetus may be connected with the
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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 The Case of the Golden Bullet by Grace Isabel Colbron and Augusta Groner: Commissioner of Police, and to order the taking away of the body?
We will look about for some motive for this murder in the meantime,"
said Horn, as he held out his hand to the physician.
Muller walked out to the door of the house with the doctor.
"Do you think this valet did it?" asked the physician softly.
"He? Oh, dear, no," replied the detective scornfully.
"You think he's too stupid? But this stupidity might be feigned."
"It's real enough, doctor."
"But what do you think about it - you, who have the gift of seeing
more than other people see, even if it does bring you into disfavour
with the Powers that Be?"
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