| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe: As soon as Friday told me he saw people, I caused the English
ancient to be spread, and fired three guns, to give them notice we
were friends; and in about a quarter of an hour after we perceived
a smoke arise from the side of the creek; so I immediately ordered
the boat out, taking Friday with me, and hanging out a white flag,
I went directly on shore, taking with me the young friar I
mentioned, to whom I had told the story of my living there, and the
manner of it, and every particular both of myself and those I left
there, and who was on that account extremely desirous to go with
me. We had, besides, about sixteen men well armed, if we had found
any new guests there which we did not know of; but we had no need
Robinson Crusoe |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Second Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling: can establish some kind of blood-relationship, and as it is only
in old fairy-tales that the Mugger ever marries a jackal, the
Jackal knew for what reason he had been suddenly lifted into
the Mugger"s family circle. If they had been alone he would
not have cared, but the Adjutant"s eyes twinkled with mirth
at the ugly jest.
"Assuredly, Father, I might have known," said the Jackal.
A mugger does not care to be called a father of jackals, and the
Mugger of Mugger-Ghaut said as much--and a great deal more which
there is no use in repeating here.
"The Protector of the Poor has claimed kinship. How can I
The Second Jungle Book |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from De Profundis by Oscar Wilde: a phrase; a great deal of it is hidden away in the note of doom
that like a purple thread runs through the texture of DORIAN GRAY;
in THE CRITIC AS ARTIST it is set forth in many colours; in THE
SOUL OF MAN it is written down, and in letters too easy to read; it
is one of the refrains whose recurring MOTIFS make SALOME so like a
piece of music and bind it together as a ballad; in the prose poem
of the man who from the bronze of the image of the 'Pleasure that
liveth for a moment' has to make the image of the 'Sorrow that
abideth for ever' it is incarnate. It could not have been
otherwise. At every single moment of one's life one is what one is
going to be no less than what one has been. Art is a symbol,
|
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 Magic of Oz by L. Frank Baum: Its body was a small log and its legs were limbs of trees stuck in the
body. Its eyes were knots, its mouth was sawed in the end of the log
and its ears were two chips. A small branch had been left at the rear
end of the log to serve as a tail.
Ozma herself, during one of her early adventures, had brought this
wooden horse to life, and so she was much attached to the queer animal
and had shod the bottoms of its wooden legs with plates of gold so
they would not wear out. The Sawhorse was a swift and willing
traveler, and though it could talk if need arose, it seldom said
anything unless spoken to. When the Sawhorse was harnessed to the Red
Wagon there were no reins to guide him because all that was needed was
The Magic of Oz |
