| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Statesman by Plato: been shorter they would have made those who took part in them better
dialecticians, and more capable of expressing the truth of things; about
any other praise and blame, he need not trouble himself--he should pretend
not to hear them. But we have had enough of this, as you will probably
agree with me in thinking. Let us return to our Statesman, and apply to
his case the aforesaid example of weaving.
YOUNG SOCRATES: Very good;--let us do as you say.
STRANGER: The art of the king has been separated from the similar arts of
shepherds, and, indeed, from all those which have to do with herds at all.
There still remain, however, of the causal and co-operative arts those
which are immediately concerned with States, and which must first be
 Statesman |
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 From the Earth to the Moon by Jules Verne: contradictor, permit me to submit to you one further observation.
We only know _one_ side of the moon's disc; and if there is but
little air on the face presented to us, it is possible that there
is plenty on the one turned away from us."
"And for what reason?"
"Because the moon, under the action of the earth's attraction,
has assumed the form of an egg, which we look at from the
smaller end. Hence it follows, by Hausen's calculations, that
its center of gravity is situated in the other hemisphere.
Hence it results that the great mass of air and water must have
been drawn away to the other face of our satellite during the
 From the Earth to the Moon |