| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Apology by Plato: they do not know, and cannot tell; but in order that they may not appear to
be at a loss, they repeat the ready-made charges which are used against all
philosophers about teaching things up in the clouds and under the earth,
and having no gods, and making the worse appear the better cause; for they
do not like to confess that their pretence of knowledge has been detected--
which is the truth; and as they are numerous and ambitious and energetic,
and are drawn up in battle array and have persuasive tongues, they have
filled your ears with their loud and inveterate calumnies. And this is the
reason why my three accusers, Meletus and Anytus and Lycon, have set upon
me; Meletus, who has a quarrel with me on behalf of the poets; Anytus, on
behalf of the craftsmen and politicians; Lycon, on behalf of the
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Father Goriot by Honore de Balzac: Vicomtesse. Fate seemed to determine that the smallest accidents
in his life should combine to urge him into a career, which the
terrible sphinx of the Maison Vauquer had described as a field of
battle where you must either slay or be slain, and cheat to avoid
being cheated. You leave your conscience and your heart at the
barriers, and wear a mask on entering into this game of grim
earnest, where, as in ancient Sparta, you must snatch your prize
without being detected if you would deserve the crown.
On his return he found the Vicomtesse gracious and kindly, as she
had always been to him. They went together to the dining-room,
where the Vicomte was waiting for his wife. In the time of the
Father Goriot |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from A treatise on Good Works by Dr. Martin Luther: proposes to exhibit the good works according to the Ten
Commandments. For the First Commandment does not forbid this and
that, nor does it require this and that; it forbids but one
thing, unbelief; it requires but one thing, faith, "that
confidence in God's good will at all times." Without this faith
the best works are as nothing, and if man should think that by
them he could be well-pleasing to God, he would be lowering God
to the level of a "broker or a laborer who will not dispense his
grace and kindness gratis."
This understanding of faith and good works, so Luther now
addresses his opponents, should in fairness be kept in view by
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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 Beasts of Tarzan by Edgar Rice Burroughs: as Tarzan had surmised, it was identical with that of the tribe
in which the first twenty years of his life had been spent.
"I am Akut," said the ape. "Molak is dead. I am king.
Go away or I shall kill you!"
"You saw how easily I killed Molak," replied Tarzan. "So I
could kill you if I cared to be king. But Tarzan of the
Apes would not be king of the tribe of Akut. All he wishes
is to live in peace in this country. Let us be friends.
Tarzan of the Apes can help you, and you can help Tarzan
of the Apes."
"You cannot kill Akut," replied the other. "None is so
The Beasts of Tarzan |
