| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Westward Ho! by Charles Kingsley: "I came to look for Christians, and I find heathens; for men, and I
find swine. I shall leave the heathens to their wilderness, and
the swine to their trough. Parracombe!"
"He's too happy to answer you, sir. And why not? What do you want
of us? Our two years vow is out, and we are free men now."
"Free to become like the beasts that perish? You are the queen's
servants still, and in her name I charge you--
"Free to be happy," interrupted the man. "With the best of wives,
the best of food, a warmer bed than a duke's, and a finer garden
than an emperor's. As for clothes, why the plague should a man
wear them where he don't need them? As for gold, what's the use of
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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 Euthydemus by Plato: knows all things: he and Dionysodorus and all other men know all things.
'Do they know shoemaking, etc?' 'Yes.' The sceptical Ctesippus would like
to have some evidence of this extraordinary statement: he will believe if
Euthydemus will tell him how many teeth Dionysodorus has, and if
Dionysodorus will give him a like piece of information about Euthydemus.
Even Socrates is incredulous, and indulges in a little raillery at the
expense of the brothers. But he restrains himself, remembering that if the
men who are to be his teachers think him stupid they will take no pains
with him. Another fallacy is produced which turns on the absoluteness of
the verb 'to know.' And here Dionysodorus is caught 'napping,' and is
induced by Socrates to confess that 'he does not know the good to be
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