| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Unconscious Comedians by Honore de Balzac: ordinary head and flung himself upon Gazonal, taking Regulus by the
arm at the instant that the pupil was about to begin the operation of
the little scissors.
"I will take charge of monsieur. Look, monsieur," he said to the
grocer, "reflect yourself in the great mirror--if the mirror permits.
Ossian!"
A lacquey entered, and took hold of the client to dress him.
"You pay at the desk, monsieur," said Marius to the stupefied grocer,
who was pulling out his purse.
"Is there any use, my dear fellow," said Bixiou, "in going through
this operation of the little scissors?"
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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 Meno by Plato: justice, temperance, and the like. Nor is Socrates positive of anything
but the duty of enquiry. The doctrine of reminiscence too is explained
more in accordance with fact and experience as arising out of the
affinities of nature (ate tes thuseos oles suggenous ouses). Modern
philosophy says that all things in nature are dependent on one another; the
ancient philosopher had the same truth latent in his mind when he affirmed
that out of one thing all the rest may be recovered. The subjective was
converted by him into an objective; the mental phenomenon of the
association of ideas (compare Phaedo) became a real chain of existences.
The germs of two valuable principles of education may also be gathered from
the 'words of priests and priestesses:' (1) that true knowledge is a
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