| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Copy-Cat & Other Stories by Mary E. Wilkins Freeman: Johnny stared at her. It was a puzzle.
"If," said Lily, distinctly, "you are afraid to go
home, if you think your aunt will tell, I will let you
get into Aunt Laura's baby-carriage again, and I
will wheel you a little way."
Johnny would have liked at that moment to knock
Lily down, as he had his aunt Janet. Lily looked
at him shrewdly. "Oh yes," said she, "you can
knock me down in the dust there if you want to,
and spoil my nice clean dress. You will be a boy,
just the same."
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Critias by Plato: sworn, and extinguishing all the fire about the temple, they received and
gave judgment, if any of them had an accusation to bring against any one;
and when they had given judgment, at daybreak they wrote down their
sentences on a golden tablet, and dedicated it together with their robes to
be a memorial.
There were many special laws affecting the several kings inscribed about
the temples, but the most important was the following: They were not to
take up arms against one another, and they were all to come to the rescue
if any one in any of their cities attempted to overthrow the royal house;
like their ancestors, they were to deliberate in common about war and other
matters, giving the supremacy to the descendants of Atlas. And the king
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| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Lair of the White Worm by Bram Stoker: her fright, she tore down the curtain, which enveloped her from head
to foot. Then she ran through the still open door, heedless of the
fact that she could not see where she was going. Adam, followed by
Sir Nathaniel, rushed forward and joined her--Adam catching his wife
by the arm and holding her tight. It was well that he did so, for
just before her lay the black orifice of the well-hole, which, of
course, she could not see with the silk curtain round her head. The
floor was extremely slippery; something like thick oil had been
spilled where she had to pass; and close to the edge of the hole her
feet shot from under her, and she stumbled forward towards the well-
hole.
Lair of the White Worm |
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 Art of War by Sun Tzu: Ou-yang Hsiu, from which we may cull the following: --
Later scholars have misread Sun Tzu, distorting his
words and trying to make them square with their own one-sided
views. Thus, though commentators have not been lacking, only
a few have proved equal to the task. My friend Sheng-yu has
not fallen into this mistake. In attempting to provide a
critical commentary for Sun Tzu's work, he does not lose
sight of the fact that these sayings were intended for states
engaged in internecine warfare; that the author is not
concerned with the military conditions prevailing under the
sovereigns of the three ancient dynasties, [43] nor with the
The Art of War |
