| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Child of Storm by H. Rider Haggard: answer to them, since to do so would have involved a discussion of the
past and its tragical events, into which I had no wish to enter. Panda,
too, remained silent for a while. Then he called to a messenger to
summon the princes, Cetewayo and Umbelazi, and to bid Saduko, the son of
Matiwane, to wait without, in case he should wish to speak with him.
A few minutes later the two princes arrived. I watched their coming
with interest, for they were the most important men in Zululand, and
already the nation debated fiercely which of them would succeed to the
throne. I will try to describe them a little.
They were both of much the same age--it is always difficult to arrive at
a Zulu's exact years--and both fine young men. Cetewayo, however, had
Child of Storm |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from On Horsemanship by Xenophon: over ditches, and upon high places and down from them."
And here, if any reader should accuse us of repeating ourselves, on
the ground that we are only stating now what we said before on the
same topics,[2] we say that this is not mere repetition. In the former
case, we confined ourselves to advising the purchaser before he
concluded his bargain to test whether the horse could do those
particular things;[3] what we are now maintaining is that the owner
ought to teach his own horse, and we will explain how this teaching is
to be done.
[2] Or, "treating of a topic already handled."
[3] i.e. possessed a certain ability at the date of purchase.
On Horsemanship |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Some Reminiscences by Joseph Conrad: quietly and you silly chaps had better go after them and pray God
to forgive you your evil thoughts."
This appeal was an unlucky inspiration. In crowding clumsily to
the window to see whether he was speaking the truth, the fellows
overturned the little writing-table. As it fell over a chink of
loose coin was heard. "There's money in that thing," cried the
blacksmith. In a moment the top of the delicate piece of
furniture was smashed and there lay exposed in a drawer eighty
half-imperials. Gold coin was a rare sight in Russia even at
that time; it put the peasants beside themselves. "There must be
more of that in the house and we shall have it," yelled the ex-
Some Reminiscences |
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 Red Inn by Honore de Balzac: seemed to be dying and whose half-extinguished eyes apparently saw
nothing. A confused murmur which was heard without proved the presence
of a crowd, drawn to the neighborhood of the inn by the news of the
crime, and also perhaps by a desire to see the murderer. The step of
the sentries placed beneath the windows of the public room and the
rattle of their accoutrements could be heard above the talk of the
populace; but the inn was closed and the courtyard was empty and
silent.
Incapable of sustaining the glance of the officer who was gathering
his testimony, Prosper Magnan suddenly felt his hand pressed by a man,
and he raised his eyes to see who his protector could be in that crowd
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