| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Apology by Xenophon: touch of weakness, but with gaiety welcomed death's embrace, and
discharged life's debt.
[58] Lit. "dear to the gods"; "highly favoured."
[59] Cf. Hom. "Od." xii. 341, {pantes men stugeroi thanatoi deiloisi
brotoisin}.
[60] {prosantes}, i.e. "he faced death boldly as he had encountered
life's blessings blandly." "As he had been no stoic to repudiate
life's blessings, so he was no coward to," etc.
For myself indeed, as I lay to mind the wisdom of the man and his
nobility, I can neither forget him nor, remembering him, forbear to
praise him. But if any of those who make virtue their pursuit have
The Apology |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Deputy of Arcis by Honore de Balzac: department, and endeavoring to persuade you that I had conducted
myself towards this honorable body with a total want of reverence.
The minister of Public Works said a few words which did not reach
us. Great disturbance.
/M. Victorin Hulot/.--M. le president, have the goodness to
request the minister of Public Works not to interrupt the speaker.
He can answer.
/M. de Sallenauve/.--According to M. le comte de Rastignac, I
showed essential disrespect to the Chamber by asking, in a foreign
country, for leave of absence, which it was obvious I had already
taken before making my request. But, in his extreme desire to find
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| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from A Personal Record by Joseph Conrad: the will ready for signature kept by his bedside, died intestate.
The fortune thus acquired and augmented by a wise and careful
management passed to some distant relatives whom he had never
seen and who even did not bear his name.
Meantime the blessing of general peace descended upon Europe.
Mr. Nicholas B., bidding good-bye to his hospitable relative,
the "fearless" Austrian officer, departed from Galicia, and
without going near his native place, where the odious lawsuit was
still going on, proceeded straight to Warsaw and entered the army
of the newly constituted Polish kingdom under the sceptre of
Alexander I, Autocrat of all the Russias.
A Personal Record |
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 Theaetetus by Plato: have no reason or explanation; you can only name them, but no predicate can
be either affirmed or denied of them, for in the one case existence, in the
other non-existence is already implied, neither of which must be added, if
you mean to speak of this or that thing by itself alone. It should not be
called itself, or that, or each, or alone, or this, or the like; for these
go about everywhere and are applied to all things, but are distinct from
them; whereas, if the first elements could be described, and had a
definition of their own, they would be spoken of apart from all else. But
none of these primeval elements can be defined; they can only be named, for
they have nothing but a name, and the things which are compounded of them,
as they are complex, are expressed by a combination of names, for the
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