| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Royalty Restored/London Under Charles II by J. Fitzgerald Molloy: poisoned by atmospheric contagion, bred venom in the body, which
burst forth into nauseous sores and uncleanness; or otherwise
preyed with more rapid fatality internally, in some cases causing
death before its victims were assured of disease. Nor did it
spare the young and robust any more than those weak of frame or
ripe with years, but attacking stealthily, killed speedily. It
was indeed the "pestilence that walketh in darkness, and the
destruction that wasteth in the noonday." In the month of May,
when it was yet uncertain if the city would be spared even in
part, persons of position and wealth, and indeed those endowed
with sufficient means to support themselves elsewhere, resolved
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Men of Iron by Howard Pyle: exposure in camp and field during the hard winter that had passed
had roughened the smooth bloom of his boyish complexion and
bronzed his fair skin almost as much as a midsummer's sun could
have done. His beard and mustache had grown again, (now heavier
and more mannish from having been shaved), and the white seam of
a scar over the right temple gave, if not a stern, at least a
determined look to the strong, square-jawed young face. So the
two stood for a while regarding one another. Myles was the first
to break the silence.
"My Lord," said he, "thou didst send for me to come back to
England; behold, here am I."
Men of Iron |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen: After pausing on this point a considerable while, she once more
continued to read. But, alas! the story which followed, of his
designs on Miss Darcy, received some confirmation from what
had passed between Colonel Fitzwilliam and herself only the
morning before; and at last she was referred for the truth of
every particular to Colonel Fitzwilliam himself-- from whom she
had previously received the information of his near concern in all
his cousin's affairs, and whose character she had no reason to
question. At one time she had almost resolved on applying to
him, but the idea was checked by the awkwardness of the
application, and at length wholly banished by the conviction that
Pride and Prejudice |
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: of the world-animal of the Timaeus.
In Bacon and Locke we have another development in which the mind of man is
supposed to receive knowledge by a new method and to work by observation
and experience. But we may remark that it is the idea of experience,
rather than experience itself, with which the mind is filled. It is a
symbol of knowledge rather than the reality which is vouchsafed to us. The
Organon of Bacon is not much nearer to actual facts than the Organon of
Aristotle or the Platonic idea of good. Many of the old rags and ribbons
which defaced the garment of philosophy have been stripped off, but some of
them still adhere. A crude conception of the ideas of Plato survives in
the 'forms' of Bacon. And on the other hand, there are many passages of
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