| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Magic of Oz by L. Frank Baum: window. In the top of its head, however, was a mass of delicate pink
balls which looked like jewels but were intended for brains. It had a
heart made of blood-red ruby. The eyes were two large emeralds. But,
aside from these colors, all the rest of the animal was of clear
glass, and it had a spun-glass tail that was really beautiful.
"Here, wake up," said Cap'n Bill. "We want to talk to you."
Slowly the Glass Cat got upon its feed, yawned and then looked at
the three who stood before it.
"How dare you disturb me?" it asked in a peevish voice. "You ought
to be ashamed of yourselves."
"Never mind that," returned the Sailor. "Do you remember tellin' me
The Magic of Oz |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Lin McLean by Owen Wister: cadences of the fiddle sang across the night. But a calling and confusion
were set up, and the tune broke off.
"Just like old times!" said his Excellency. "Where's the dump-pile!" It
was where it should be, close by, and the two stepped behind it to be
screened from wandering bullets. "A man don't forget his habits,"
declared the Governor. "Makes me feel young again."
"Makes me feel old," said McLean. "Hark!"
"Sounds like my name," said Barker. They listened. "Oh yes. Of course.
That's it. They're shouting for the doctor. But we'll just spare them a
minute or so to finish their excitement."
"I didn't hear any shooting," said McLean. "It's something, though."
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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 Albert Savarus by Honore de Balzac: she had a brief interview with the Abbe Giroud at Saint-Pierre, and
managed so ingeniously that the hour of her confession was fixed for
Sunday morning at half-past seven, before the eight o'clock Mass. She
committed herself to a dozen fibs in order to find herself, just for
once, in the church at the hour when the lawyer came to Mass. Then she
was seized with an impulse of extreme affection for her father; she
went to see him in his workroom, and asked him for all sorts of
information on the art of turning, ending by advising him to turn
larger pieces, columns. After persuading her father to set to work on
some twisted pillars, one of the difficulties of the turner's art, she
suggested that he should make use of a large heap of stones that lay
Albert Savarus |
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: upon the immortality of the soul, he adds, 'Of some things which I have
said I am not altogether confident' (compare Apology; Gorgias). From this
class of uncertainties he exempts the difference between truth and
appearance, of which he is absolutely convinced.
In the Republic the ideas are spoken of in two ways, which though not
contradictory are different. In the tenth book they are represented as the
genera or general ideas under which individuals having a common name are
contained. For example, there is the bed which the carpenter makes, the
picture of the bed which is drawn by the painter, the bed existing in
nature of which God is the author. Of the latter all visible beds are only
the shadows or reflections. This and similar illustrations or explanations
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