| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Koran: God is with the patient.'
And when they went out against a Galut and his soldiery, they
said, 'Lord, pour out patience over us, and make firm our steps, and
help us against the misbelieving people!'
And they put them to flight by the permission of God, and David
killed Galut, and God gave him the kingdom and wisdom, and taught
him of what He willed. And were it not for God's repelling men one
with another the earth would become spoiled; but God is Lord of
grace over the worlds.
These are the signs of God, we recite them to thee in truth, for,
verily, thou art of those who are sent.
The Koran |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Statesman by Plato: proportion to his main subject, and appears to value them as a dialectical
exercise, and for their own sake. A poetical vision of some order or
hierarchy of ideas or sciences has already been floating before us in the
Symposium and the Republic. And in the Phaedrus this aspect of dialectic
is further sketched out, and the art of rhetoric is based on the division
of the characters of mankind into their several classes. The same love of
divisions is apparent in the Gorgias. But in a well-known passage of the
Philebus occurs the first criticism on the nature of classification. There
we are exhorted not to fall into the common error of passing from unity to
infinity, but to find the intermediate classes; and we are reminded that in
any process of generalization, there may be more than one class to which
Statesman |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from The Two Brothers by Honore de Balzac: artist, at your age?"
"Yes, monsieur."
"Well, come here just as much as you like; we'll amuse you. Give him a
board, and paper, and chalks, and let him alone. You are to know, you
young scamps, that his father did me a service. Here, Corde-a-puits,
go and get some cakes and sugar-plums," he said to the pupil who had
tortured Joseph, giving him some small change. "We'll see if you are
to be artist by the way you gobble up the dainties," added the
sculptor, chucking Joseph under the chin.
Then he went round examining the pupils' works, followed by the child,
who looked and listened, and tried to understand him. The sweets were
|
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 In a German Pension by Katherine Mansfield: accordance with his--"world outlook". They strode ahead and left us to
trail after them--hot and happy.
"Now is the opportunity," said Frau Kellermann. "Dear Frau Professor, do
tell us a little about your book."
"Ach, how did you know I was writing one?" she cried playfully.
"Elsa, here, had it from Lisa. And never before have I personally known a
woman who was writing a book. How do you manage to find enough to write
down?"
"That is never the trouble," said the Advanced Lady--she took Elsa's arm
and leaned on it gently. "The trouble is to know where to stop. My brain
has been a hive for years, and about three months ago the pent-up waters
|
