| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from The Apology by Xenophon: as wonderful when in all ordinary concerns the best people should
obtain, I do not say only an equal share, but an exclusive preference;
but in my case, simply because I am selected by certain people as an
adept in respect of the greatest treasure men possess--education, I am
on that account to be prosecuted by you, sir, on the capital charge?"
Much more than this, it stands to reason, was urged, whether by
himself or by the friends who advocated his cause.[40] But my object
has not been to mention everything that arose out of the suit. It
suffices me to have shown on the one hand that Socrates, beyond
everything, desired not to display impiety to heaven,[41] and
injustice to men; and on the other, that escape from death was not a
The Apology |
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 McTeague by Frank Norris: B Street station was nothing more than a little shed. There
was no ticket office, nothing but a couple of whittled and
carven benches. It was built close to the railroad tracks,
just across which was the dirty, muddy shore of San
Francisco Bay. About a quarter of a mile back from the
station was the edge of the town of Oakland. Between the
station and the first houses of the town lay immense salt
flats, here and there broken by winding streams of black
water. They were covered with a growth of wiry grass,
strangely discolored in places by enormous stains of orange
yellow.
McTeague |
