| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Gorgias by Plato: statesmen, past as well as present, are included in the class of
flatterers. The true and false finally appear before the judgment-seat of
the gods below.
The dialogue naturally falls into three divisions, to which the three
characters of Gorgias, Polus, and Callicles respectively correspond; and
the form and manner change with the stages of the argument. Socrates is
deferential towards Gorgias, playful and yet cutting in dealing with the
youthful Polus, ironical and sarcastic in his encounter with Callicles. In
the first division the question is asked--What is rhetoric? To this there
is no answer given, for Gorgias is soon made to contradict himself by
Socrates, and the argument is transferred to the hands of his disciple
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Stories From the Old Attic by Robert Harris: the souls of all those who lived therein. He now ruled over the
land as far as he--or even someone with good eyesight--could see in
every direction from the top of his highest tower. At any time of
day or night the king could call for the relief of a distressed
friend or the beheading of an enemy. He had absolute say over the
life or death, the happiness or suffering, of millions of people of
every rank and degree, from the most exalted noble in a seaside
mansion to the most unfortunate street urchin in a grimy and
stifling hovel. Such a thought sometimes gave the king half a
smile, but he was still not happy.
"Perhaps what the king needs is love," said the eunuch in charge of
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