| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Memorabilia by Xenophon: impregnable in defence, a very dare-devil in attack--these and many
other qualities must he possess who is to make a good general and
minister of war; they must come to him by gift of nature or through
science. No doubt it is a grand thing also to be a tactician, since
there is all the difference in the world between an army properly
handled in the field and the same in disorder; just as stones and
bricks, woodwork and tiles, tumbled together in a heap are of no use
at all, but arrange them in a certain order--at bottom and atop
materials which will not crumble or rot, such as stones and earthen
tiles, and in the middle between the two put bricks and woodwork, with
an eye to architectural principle,[10] and finally you get a valuable
The Memorabilia |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The House of Dust by Conrad Aiken: Yet, there was nothing asked, no hint to tell you
Of secret idols carved in secret chambers
From all you did and said.
Nothing was done, until at last she knew you.
Nothing was known, till, somehow, she was dead.
How did she die?--You say, she died of poison.
Simple and swift. And much to be regretted.
You did not see her pass
So many thousand times from light to darkness,
Pausing so many times before her glass;
You did not see how many times she hurried
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