| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Caesar's Commentaries in Latin by Julius Caesar: rescribere.
Planities erat magna et in ea tumulus terrenus satis grandis. Hic
locus aequum fere spatium a castris Ariovisti et Caesaris aberat. Eo, ut
erat dictum, ad conloquium venerunt. Legionem Caesar, quam equis
devexerat, passibus CC ab eo tumulo constituit. Item equites Ariovisti
pari intervallo constiterunt. Ariovistus ex equis ut conloquerentur et
praeter se denos ad conloquium adducerent postulavit. Ubi eo ventum est,
Caesar initio orationis sua senatusque in eum beneficia commemoravit, quod
rex appellatus esset a senatu, quod amicus, quod munera amplissime missa;
quam rem et paucis contigisse et pro magnis hominum officiis consuesse
tribui docebat; illum, cum neque aditum neque causam postulandi iustam
|
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Oakdale Affair by Edgar Rice Burroughs: outen de rain. He has a pocket full o' kale an' sparklers
an' tings, and he goes fer to shoot me up wen I tries
to get away."
"Who was he?" asked Burton.
"He called hisself de Oskaloosa Kid," replied Charlie.
"A guy called Bridge was wid him. You know him?"
"I've heard of him; but he's straight," replied Burton.
"Who was the skirt?"
"I dunno," said Charlie; "but she was gassin' 'bout her
pals croakin' a guy an' trunin' 'im outten a gas wagon,
an' dis Oskaloosa Kid he croaks some old guy in Oak-
The Oakdale Affair |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from The Magic of Oz by L. Frank Baum: their place. "Grab one, Cap'n!" exclaimed Trot, and even while eating the
peach she seized a banana with her other hand and tore it from the bush.
The old sailor was still bewildered. He put out a hand indeed, but he was
too late, for now the bananas disappeared and lemons took their place.
"Pshaw!" cried Trot. "You can't eat those things; but watch out,
Cap'n, for something else."
Cocoanuts next appeared, but Cap'n Bill shook his head.
"Ca'n't crack 'em," he remarked, "'cause we haven't anything handy to
smash 'em with."
"Well, take one, anyhow," advised Trot; but the cocoanuts were gone
now, and a deep, purple, pear-shaped fruit which was unknown to them
The Magic of Oz |
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 Republic by Plato: is, as ignorance is of something which is not; and there is a third thing,
which both is and is not, and is matter of opinion only. Opinion and
knowledge, then, having distinct objects, must also be distinct faculties.
And by faculties I mean powers unseen and distinguishable only by the
difference in their objects, as opinion and knowledge differ, since the one
is liable to err, but the other is unerring and is the mightiest of all our
faculties. If being is the object of knowledge, and not-being of
ignorance, and these are the extremes, opinion must lie between them, and
may be called darker than the one and brighter than the other. This
intermediate or contingent matter is and is not at the same time, and
partakes both of existence and of non-existence. Now I would ask my good
The Republic |
