| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Faraday as a Discoverer by John Tyndall: one of litmus and the other of turmeric paper, and all moistened
with sulphate of soda, in the line of the current from the machine.
The pieces of paper were separated from each other by spaces of air.
The machine was turned; and it was always found that at the point
where the electricity entered the paper, litmus was reddened, and at
the point where it quitted the paper, turmeric was browned. 'Here,'
he urges, 'the poles are entirely abandoned, but we have still
electrochemical decomposition.' It is evident to him that instead of
being attracted by the poles, the bodies separated are ejected by
the current. The effects thus obtained with poles of air he also
succeeded in obtaining with poles of water. The advance in
|
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 Stories From the Old Attic by Robert Harris: the fresh sea air, feeling the warmth of the bright sunshine on his
face, and ignoring or perhaps not hearing the burst of the whip as
it lacerated the backs of the struggling slaves in the galley. But
in the midst of enjoying his view, he felt a particle of dust fly
into his eye. By blinking and rubbing it a little, he removed the
speck, but his eye was reddened.
"Well," he said stoically, "life has many pains and hardships and we
must bear them as best we can." Then relaxing upon a couch and
ordering two slaves to dab his brow with a moistened cloth, he
called upon his friends to sympathize with his suffering, whereupon
he found some satisfaction in complaining of his hurt.
|
