| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from On Revenues by Xenophon: drachmae for a female.
[4] Or, "the class in question." According to Schneider (who cites the
{atimetos metanastes} of Homer, "Il." ix. 648), the reference is
not to disabilities in the technical sense, but to humiliating
duties, such as the {skaphephoria} imposed on the men, or the
{udriaphoria} and {skiadephoria} imposed on their wives and
daughters in attendance on the {kanephoroi} at the Panathenaic and
other festival processions. See Arist. "Eccles." 730 foll.;
Boeckh, "P. E. A." IV. x. (Eng. tr. G. Cornewall Lewis, p. 538).
[5] Or, reading {megas men gar o agon, mega de kai to apo ton tekhnon
kai ton oikeion apienai}, after Zurborg ("Xen. de Reditibus
|
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Youth by Joseph Conrad: handiwork, which had withstood so long the malice of
the sea. And we pumped. And there was no break in
the weather. The sea was white like a sheet of foam,
like a caldron of boiling milk; there was not a break in
the clouds, no--not the size of a man's hand--no, not
for so much as ten seconds. There was for us no sky,
there were for us no stars, no sun, no universe--nothing
but angry clouds and an infuriated sea. We pumped
watch and watch, for dear life; and it seemed to last for
months, for years, for all eternity, as though we had been
dead and gone to a hell for sailors. We forgot the day
Youth |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Ten Years Later by Alexandre Dumas: CHAPTER 18
In which D'Artagnan seeks Porthos, and only finds Mousqueton
When D'Artagnan had perfectly convinced himself that the
absence of the Vicar-General d'Herblay was real, and that
his friend was not to be found at Melun or in its vicinity,
he left Bazin without regret, cast an ill-natured glance at
the magnificent Chateau de Vaux which was beginning to shine
with that splendor which brought on its ruin, and,
compressing his lips like a man full of mistrust and
suspicion, he put spurs to his pied horse, saying, "Well,
well! I have still Pierrefonds left, and there I shall find
Ten Years Later |
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 The Marvelous Land of Oz by L. Frank Baum: groups, gossiping and laughing.
"What has happened?" the Scarecrow asked a sad-looking man with a bushy
beard, who wore an apron and was wheeling a baby-carriage along the
sidewalk.
"Why, we've had a revolution, your Majesty as you ought to know very well,"
replied the man; "and since you went away the women have been running things
to suit themselves. I'm glad you have decided to come back and restore
order, for doing housework and minding the children is wearing out the
strength of every man in the Emerald City."
"Hm!" said the Scarecrow, thoughtfully. "If it
171
The Marvelous Land of Oz |
