| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Beasts of Tarzan by Edgar Rice Burroughs: to the deck he heard a warning challenge from above, and,
looking up, gazed into the cold, relentless muzzle of a rifle.
After Jane Clayton, with rifle levelled at the breast of Rokoff,
had succeeded in holding him off until the dugout in
which she had taken refuge had drifted out upon the bosom
of the Ugambi beyond the man's reach, she had lost no time
in paddling to the swiftest sweep of the channel, nor did she
for long days and weary nights cease to hold her craft to the
most rapidly moving part of the river, except when during
the hottest hours of the day she had been wont to drift as the
current would take her, lying prone in the bottom of the canoe,
The Beasts of Tarzan |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Don Quixote by Miquel de Cervantes: Quixote, and thou Sancho Panza: at any rate, they seem to me to be
so."
"Hush, senor," said Sancho, "don't talk that way, but open your
eyes, and come and pay your respects to the lady of your thoughts, who
is close upon us now;" and with these words he advanced to receive the
three village lasses, and dismounting from Dapple, caught hold of
one of the asses of the three country girls by the halter, and
dropping on both knees on the ground, he said, "Queen and princess and
duchess of beauty, may it please your haughtiness and greatness to
receive into your favour and good-will your captive knight who
stands there turned into marble stone, and quite stupefied and
Don Quixote |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from A Pair of Blue Eyes by Thomas Hardy: I shall see you again, you know.'
'Oh, yes.'
And each got into his own place. Just at starting, a man on the
platform held up his hands and stopped the train.
Stephen looked out to see what was the matter.
One of the officials was exclaiming to another, 'That carriage
should have been attached again. Can't you see it is for the main
line? Quick! What fools there are in the world!'
'What a confounded nuisance these stoppages are!' exclaimed Knight
impatiently, looking out from his compartment. 'What is it?'
'That singular carriage we saw has been unfastened from our train
A Pair of Blue Eyes |
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 Pagan and Christian Creeds by Edward Carpenter: many people think that this astronomical fact is the explanation
of the very widespread legend of the Virgin-birth. I
do not think that it is the sole explanation--for indeed in
all or nearly all these cases the acceptance of a myth seems
to depend not upon a single argument but upon the convergence
of a number of meanings and reasons in the same
symbol. But certainly the fact mentioned above is curious,
and its importance is accentuated by the following
considerations.
In the Temple of Denderah in Egypt, and on the inside
of the dome, there is or WAS an elaborate circular representation
Pagan and Christian Creeds |
