| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Symposium by Xenophon: [46] See "Il." xi. 831; "Hunting," ch. i., as to Cheiron and his
scholars, the last of whom is Achilles.
[47] {an periepoito}. "He will be scurvily treated." Cf. "Hell." III.
i. 19.
[48] Cf. "Mem." I. ii. 29.
If my language has a touch of turbulence,[49] do not marvel: partly
the wine exalts me; partly that love which ever dwells within my heart
of hearts now pricks me forward to use great boldness of speech[50]
against his base antagonist. Why, yes indeed, it seems to me that he
who fixes his mind on outward beauty is like a man who has taken a
farm on a short lease. He shows no anxiety to improve its value; his
The Symposium |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Edingburgh Picturesque Notes by Robert Louis Stevenson: hear each other singing psalms across the street. There
is but a street between them in space, but a shadow
between them in principle; and yet there they sit,
enchanted, and in damnatory accents pray for each other's
growth in grace. It would be well if there were no more
than two; but the sects in Scotland form a large family
of sisters, and the chalk lines are thickly drawn, and
run through the midst of many private homes. Edinburgh
is a city of churches, as though it were a place of
pilgrimage. You will see four within a stone-cast at the
head of the West Bow. Some are crowded to the doors;
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