| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Case of the Golden Bullet by Grace Isabel Colbron and Augusta Groner: wife and who hid behind the shelter of the law - and therefore,
therefore, therefore - " Muller's voice grew hoarse, then died
away altogether.
Kniepp listened with pallid cheeks but without a quiver. Now he
spoke, completing the other's words: "And therefore you wish to
save me from the prison or from the gallows? I thank you. What
is your name?" The unhappy man spoke as calmly as if the matter
scarcely concerned him at all.
The detective told him his name.
"Muller, Muller," repeated the Councillor, as if he were
particularly anxious to remember the name. He held out his hand
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Republic by Plato: and training. He did not reflect that Sparta was great, not in consequence
of the relaxation of morality, but in spite of it, by virtue of a political
principle stronger far than existed in any other Grecian state. Least of
all did he observe that Sparta did not really produce the finest specimens
of the Greek race. The genius, the political inspiration of Athens, the
love of liberty--all that has made Greece famous with posterity, were
wanting among the Spartans. They had no Themistocles, or Pericles, or
Aeschylus, or Sophocles, or Socrates, or Plato. The individual was not
allowed to appear above the state; the laws were fixed, and he had no
business to alter or reform them. Yet whence has the progress of cities
and nations arisen, if not from remarkable individuals, coming into the
The Republic |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Gorgias by Plato: when they cry for mercy on the shores of the lake; and the philosopher
alone is said to have got rid of the body. All the three myths in Plato
which relate to the world below have a place for repentant sinners, as well
as other homes or places for the very good and very bad. It is a natural
reflection which is made by Plato elsewhere, that the two extremes of human
character are rarely met with, and that the generality of mankind are
between them. Hence a place must be found for them. In the myth of the
Phaedo they are carried down the river Acheron to the Acherusian lake,
where they dwell, and are purified of their evil deeds, and receive the
rewards of their good. There are also incurable sinners, who are cast into
Tartarus, there to remain as the penalty of atrocious crimes; these suffer
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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 'Twixt Land & Sea by Joseph Conrad: tribute at the sideboard. "Stand it before the Captain's plate,
steward, please." He made this request in his usual undertone.
The offering was so pointed that I could do no less than to raise
it to my nose, and as he sat down noiselessly he breathed out the
opinion that a few flowers improved notably the appearance of a
ship's saloon. He wondered why I did not have a shelf fitted all
round the skylight for flowers in pots to take with me to sea. He
had a skilled workman able to fit up shelves in a day, and he could
procure me two or three dozen good plants -
The tips of his thick, round fingers rested composedly on the edge
of the table on each side of his cup of coffee. His face remained
'Twixt Land & Sea |
