| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Oedipus Trilogy by Sophocles: Hath scot or lot in the prophetic art.
Here is the proof in brief. An oracle
Once came to Laius (I will not say
'Twas from the Delphic god himself, but from
His ministers) declaring he was doomed
To perish by the hand of his own son,
A child that should be born to him by me.
Now Laius--so at least report affirmed--
Was murdered on a day by highwaymen,
No natives, at a spot where three roads meet.
As for the child, it was but three days old,
Oedipus Trilogy |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from A Book of Remarkable Criminals by H. B. Irving: condemnation and their execution has always been the subject of
curiosity and interest.
It may be said at once that nothing could have been more deeply
religious, more sincerely repentant, more Christian to all
appearances than Peace's conduct and demeanour in the last weeks
of his life. He threw himself into the work of atonement with
the same uncompromising zeal and energy that he had displayed as
a burglar. By his death a truly welcome and effective re-
cruit was lost to the ranks of the contrite and converted
sinners. However powerless as a controlling force--and he
admitted it--his belief in God and the devil may have been in the
A Book of Remarkable Criminals |
