| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Iron Puddler by James J. Davis: hills where we were born are full of coal. The people call it
black stone. They do not know that it will burn. We will go back
there with our American knowledge and set the world on fire."
There is a people who have been kicking coal around for five
thousand years and have not yet learned that it will burn. Those
hills produced gypsies who travel around cheating, dickering and
selling gewgaws that are worth nothing. They come among a people
who have used their heads. From these people they learned to heat
a banana stand with a little coal stove. Having mastered that
coal-stove principle, they are going back to their native hills
with black magic up their sleeves.
|
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Don Quixote by Miquel de Cervantes: madman; to which the holder of the warrant replied that he had nothing
to do with inquiring into Don Quixote's madness, but only to execute
his superior's orders, and that once taken they might let him go three
hundred times if they liked.
"For all that," said the curate, "you must not take him away this
time, nor will he, it is my opinion, let himself be taken away."
In short, the curate used such arguments, and Don Quixote did such
mad things, that the officers would have been more mad than he was
if they had not perceived his want of wits, and so they thought it
best to allow themselves to be pacified, and even to act as
peacemakers between the barber and Sancho Panza, who still continued
Don Quixote |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Timaeus by Plato: Whereas the so-called mysticism of Plato is purely Greek, arising out of
his imperfect knowledge and high aspirations, and is the growth of an age
in which philosophy is not wholly separated from poetry and mythology.
A greater danger with modern interpreters of Plato is the tendency to
regard the Timaeus as the centre of his system. We do not know how Plato
would have arranged his own dialogues, or whether the thought of arranging
any of them, besides the two 'Trilogies' which he has expressly connected;
was ever present to his mind. But, if he had arranged them, there are many
indications that this is not the place which he would have assigned to the
Timaeus. We observe, first of all, that the dialogue is put into the mouth
of a Pythagorean philosopher, and not of Socrates. And this is required by
|
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 Scarecrow of Oz by L. Frank Baum: together to Sky Island, once, and were good friends."
"Well, then I'm glad I saved his life," said the Bumpy
Man.
"Much obliged, Mr. Knobs," said Button-Bright, sitting
up and staring at him, "but I don't believe you've saved
anything except some popcorn that I might have eaten had
you not disturbed me. It was nice and warm in that bank
of popcorn, and there was plenty to eat. What made you
dig me out? And what makes you so bumpy everywhere?"
"As for the bumps," replied the man, looking at himself
with much pride, "I was born with them and I suspect they
The Scarecrow of Oz |
