| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Vailima Prayers & Sabbath Morn by Robert Louis Stevenson: respectability - and incidentally that of our retainers - became
assured, and the influence of Tusitala increased tenfold.
After all work and meals were finished, the 'pu,' or war conch, was
sounded from the back veranda and the front, so that it might be
heard by all. I don't think it ever occurred to us that there was
any incongruity in the use of the war conch for the peaceful
invitation to prayer. In response to its summons the white members
of the family took their usual places in one end of the large hall,
while the Samoans - men, women, and children - trooped in through
all the open doors, some carrying lanterns if the evening were
dark, all moving quietly and dropping with Samoan decorum in a wide
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Snow Image by Nathaniel Hawthorne: More years sped swiftly and tranquilly away. Ernest still dwelt
in his native valley, and was now a man of middle age. By
imperceptible degrees, he had become known among the people. Now,
as heretofore, he labored for his bread, and was the same
simple-hearted man that he had always been. But he had thought
and felt so much, he had given so many of the best hours of his
life to unworldly hopes for some great good to mankind, that it
seemed as though he had been talking with the angels, and had
imbibed a portion of their wisdom unawares. It was visible in the
calm and well-considered beneficence of his daily life, the quiet
stream of which had made a wide green margin all along its
The Snow Image |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from The Secret Agent by Joseph Conrad: "
The Assistant Commissioner interrupted the apprentice statesman.
"Yes. Yes. But a sprat is also thrown away sometimes in order to
catch a whale."
"A whale. Phew!" exclaimed Toodles, with bated breath. "You're
after a whale, then?"
"Not exactly. What I am after is more like a dog-fish. You don't
know perhaps what a dog-fish is like."
"Yes; I do. We're buried in special books up to our necks - whole
shelves full of them - with plates. . . . It's a noxious, rascally-
looking, altogether detestable beast, with a sort of smooth face
The Secret Agent |
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 Faraday as a Discoverer by John Tyndall: electro-magnetic poles; the excitement of the magnet instantly stops
the rotation. Though nothing is apparent to the eye, the copper,
if moved in the excited magnetic field, appears to move through a
viscous fluid; while, when a flat piece of the metal is caused to
pass to and fro like a saw between the poles, the sawing of the
magnetic field resembles the cutting through of cheese or butter.[1]
This virtual friction of the magnetic field is so strong, that copper,
by its rapid rotation between the poles, might probably be fused.
We may easily dismiss this experiment by saying that the heat is due
to the electric currents excited in the copper. But so long as we
are unable to reply to the question, 'What is an electric current?'
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