| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from My Antonia by Willa Cather: Let's forget the Bohemians.'
We had three weeks of this mild, open weather. The cattle
in the corral ate corn almost as fast as the men could shell it
for them, and we hoped they would be ready for an early market.
One morning the two big bulls, Gladstone and Brigham Young,
thought spring had come, and they began to tease and butt
at each other across the barbed wire that separated them.
Soon they got angry. They bellowed and pawed up the soft earth
with their hoofs, rolling their eyes and tossing their heads.
Each withdrew to a far corner of his own corral, and then
they made for each other at a gallop. Thud, thud, we could
 My Antonia |
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 Tao Teh King by Lao-tze: 2. There is no calamity greater than lightly engaging in war. To do
that is near losing (the gentleness) which is so precious. Thus it is
that when opposing weapons are (actually) crossed, he who deplores
(the situation) conquers.
70. 1. My words are very easy to know, and very easy to practise; but
there is no one in the world who is able to know and able to practise
them.
2. There is an originating and all-comprehending (principle) in my
words, and an authoritative law for the things (which I enforce). It
is because they do not know these, that men do not know me.
3. They who know me are few, and I am on that account (the more) to be
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