| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Hellenica by Xenophon: "peripety," or sudden reversal of circumstances, on which the plot
of the "Hellenica" hinges, see Grote, "H. G." x. 100-108. Cf.
Soph. "Oed. Tyr." 450; "Antig." 1066; Thuc. v. 116; "Hellenica
Essays," "Xenophon," p. 382 foll. This passage is perhaps the key
to the historian's position.
There was a man named Phyllidas--he was secretary to Archias, that is,
to the polemarchs.[2] Beyond his official duties, he had rendered his
chief other services, and all apparently in an exemplary fashion. A
visit to Athens in pursuance of some business brought this man into
contact with a former acquaintance of his, Melon, one of the exiles
who had fled for safety to Athens. Melon had various questions to ask
|
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Underdogs by Mariano Azuela: Blondie said. "Come on, boys," he added, jovially draw-
ing his gun, "I'm going to play a tune that'll make you
all dance."
A bullet ricocheted on the cement floor passing be-
tween the legs of the tables, and the smartly dressed
young men-about-town began to jump much as a woman
jumps when frightened by a mouse under her skirt. Pale
as ghosts, they conjured up wan smiles of obsequious ap-
proval. Demetrio barely parted his lips, but his followers
doubled over with laughter.
"Look, Blondie," Quail shouted, "look at that man
The Underdogs |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from The Mysterious Island by Jules Verne: particularly. As obstinate in his ideas as in his presentiments, he was in
no haste to abandon this part of the coast, the scene of the catastrophe.
He did not, he would not believe in the loss of Cyrus Harding. No, it did
not seem to him possible that such a man had ended in this vulgar fashion,
carried away by a wave, drowned in the floods, a few hundred feet from a
shore. As long as the waves had not cast up the body of the engineer, as
long as he, Neb, had not seen with his eyes, touched with his hands the
corpse of his master, he would not believe in his death! And this idea
rooted itself deeper than ever in his determined heart. An illusion
perhaps, but still an illusion to be respected, and one which the sailor
did not wish to destroy. As for him, he hoped no longer, but there was no
The Mysterious Island |
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 Lily of the Valley by Honore de Balzac: moonlight on that warm and balmy night I recrossed the Indre, watching
the white visions that embellished meadows, shores, and hills, and
listening to the clear song, the matchless note, full of deep
melancholy and uttered only in still weather, of a tree-frog whose
scientific name is unknown to me. Since that solemn evening I have
never heard it without infinite delight. A sense came to me then of
the marble wall against which my feelings had hitherto dashed
themselves. Would it be always so? I fancied myself under some fatal
spell; the unhappy events of my past life rose up and struggled with
the purely personal pleasure I had just enjoyed. Before reaching
Frapesle I turned to look at Clochegourde and saw beneath its windows
The Lily of the Valley |
