| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Phaedrus by Plato: give to your or to Lysias' disciples, and whether this may not be that
famous art of rhetoric which Thrasymachus and others teach and practise?
Skilful speakers they are, and impart their skill to any who is willing to
make kings of them and to bring gifts to them.
PHAEDRUS: Yes, they are royal men; but their art is not the same with the
art of those whom you call, and rightly, in my opinion, dialecticians:--
Still we are in the dark about rhetoric.
SOCRATES: What do you mean? The remains of it, if there be anything
remaining which can be brought under rules of art, must be a fine thing;
and, at any rate, is not to be despised by you and me. But how much is
left?
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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 Breaking Point by Mary Roberts Rinehart: what's to be gained by going any further."
In spite of his protests, Bassett was compelled finally to agree.
He was sulky and dispirited. He saw the profound anticlimax to all
his effort of Dick wandering out again, legally dead and legally
guilty, and he swore roundly under his breath.
"All right," he grunted at last. "I guess that's the last word,
Gregory. But you tell her from me that if she doesn't reopen the
matter of her own accord, she'll have a man's life on her
conscience."
"I'll not tell her anything about it. I'm not only her brother;
I'm her manager now. And I'm not kicking any hole in the boat that
The Breaking Point |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Master of the World by Jules Verne: instant when the grappling hook caught my belt! And my companions? On
their side, must not they think that I had perished in the waters of
Lake Erie?
Where was the "Terror" now, and how was it navigating? Was it moving
as an automobile? Speeding across the roads of some neighboring
State? If so, and if I had been unconscious for many hours, the
machine with its tremendous powers must be already far away. Or, on
the other hand, were we, as a submarine, following some course
beneath the lake?
No, the "Terror" was moving upon some broad liquid surface. The
sunlight, penetrating my cabin, showed that the window was not
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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 Catriona by Robert Louis Stevenson: ship for him, quot' he! And who's to pay for it? The man's daft!"
"That is my part of the affair, Mr. Stewart," said I. "Here is a bag
of good money, and if more be wanted, more is to be had where it came
from."
"I needn't ask your politics," said he.
"Ye need not," said I, smiling, "for I'm as big a Whig as grows."
"Stop a bit, stop a bit," says Mr. Stewart. "What's all this? A Whig?
Then why are you here with Alan's button? and what kind of a black-foot
traffic is this that I find ye out in, Mr. Whig? Here is a forfeited
rebel and an accused murderer, with two hundred pounds on his life, and
ye ask me to meddle in his business, and then tell me ye're a Whig! I
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