| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Nada the Lily by H. Rider Haggard: was admitted crawling on his knees. I looked and saw that this was
that Masilo whom Chaka had charged with a message to him who was named
Bulalio, or the Slaughterer, and who ruled over the People of the Axe.
It was Masilo indeed, but he was no longer fat, for much travel had
made him thin; moreover, on his back were the marks of rods, as yet
scarcely healed over.
"Who art thou?" said Chaka.
"I am Masilo, of the People of the Axe, to whom command was given to
run with a message to Bulalio the Slaughterer, their chief, and to
return on the thirtieth day. Behold, O King, I have returned, though
in a sorry plight!"
Nada the Lily |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Memorabilia by Xenophon: so that the city may not run short of this prime necessary, before you
are well aware; but on the contrary you with your full knowledge will
be in a position to give advice on so vital a question, to the aid or
may be the salvation of your country?
It is a colossal business this (Glaucon answered), if I am to be
obliged to give attention to all these details.
Soc. On the other hand, a man could not even manage his own house or
his estate well, without, in the first place, knowing what he
requires, and, in the second place, taking pains, item by item, to
supply his wants. But since this city consists of more than ten
thousand houses, and it is not easy to pay minute attention to so many
The Memorabilia |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Pivot of Civilization by Margaret Sanger: Chopin, Poe, Schumann, Nietzsche, Comte, Guy de Maupassant,--and how
many others? But such considerations should not lead us into error of
concluding that such men were geniuses merely because they were
pathological specimens, and that the only way to produce a genius is
to breed disease and defect. It only emphasizes the dangers of
external standards of ``fit'' and ``unfit.''
These limitations are more strikingly shown in the types of so-called
``eugenic'' legislation passed or proposed by certain enthusiasts.
Regulation, compulsion and prohibitions affected and enacted by
political bodies are the surest methods of driving the whole problem
under-ground. As Havelock Ellis has pointed out, the absurdity and
|
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 At the Earth's Core by Edgar Rice Burroughs: intellect that the thing I held toward him was some sort
of engine of destruction, for he too came to a halt,
simultaneously swinging his hatchet for a throw.
It is one of the many methods in which they employ
this weapon, and the accuracy of aim which they achieve,
even under the most unfavorable circumstances, is little
short of miraculous.
My shaft was drawn back its full length--my eye had centered
its sharp point upon the left breast of my adversary;
and then he launched his hatchet and I released my arrow.
At the instant that our missiles flew I leaped to one side,
At the Earth's Core |
