| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Almayer's Folly by Joseph Conrad: and watched the glimmer of the lights amongst the tree trunks
till they disappeared and complete silence succeeded the tramp of
feet and the murmur of voices. He did not move till the curtain
rustled and Nina came out on the verandah and sat in the
rocking-chair, where she used to spend many hours every day. She
gave a slight rocking motion to her seat, leaning back with
half-closed eyes, her long hair shading her face from the smoky
light of the lamp on the table. Almayer looked at her furtively,
but the face was as impassible as ever. She turned her head
slightly towards her father, and, speaking, to his great
surprise, in English, asked--
Almayer's Folly |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Perfect Wagnerite: A Commentary on the Niblung's Ring by George Bernard Shaw: trio-conjurations more exhilarating than the metaphysical
discourses of Wotan in the three true music dramas of The Ring.
There is, however, no real atavism involved. Die Gotterdammerung,
though the last of The Ring dramas in order of performance, was
the first in order of conception and was indeed the root from
which all the others sprang.
The history of the matter is as follows. All Wagner's works prior
to The Ring are operas. The last of them, Lohengrin, is perhaps
the best known of modern operas. As performed in its entirety at
Bayreuth, it is even more operatic than it appears at Covent
Garden, because it happens that its most old-fashioned features,
|
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Bab:A Sub-Deb, Mary Roberts Rinehart by Mary Roberts Rinehart: "William!"
"William," I repeated in a tence voice.
He was then alarmed and put on his slippers and dressing gown.
"You stay here," he observed. "Personally I think you've had a bad
dream, because William can't possably know the combination of that
safe. It's as much as I can do to remember it myself."
"It's a Spy's business to know everything, father."
He gave me a peircing glance.
"He's a Spy, is he?" he then said. "Well, I might have known that
all this war preparation of yours would lead to Spies. It has
turned more substantile intellects than yours."
|
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 Bride of Lammermoor by Walter Scott: "Reasonable charges!" said the sexton; "ou, there's
grundmail--and bell-siller, though the bell's broken, nae doubt--
and the kist--and my day's wark--and my bit fee--and some brandy
and yill to the dirgie, I am no thinking that you can inter her,
to ca' decently, under saxteen pund Scots."
"There is the money, my friend," said Ravenswood, "and something
over. Be sure you know the grave."
"Ye'll be ane o' her English relations, I'se warrant," said the
hoary man of skulls; "I hae heard she married far below her
station. It was very right to let her bite on the bridle when
she was living, and it's very right to gie her a secent burial
The Bride of Lammermoor |
