| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Soul of Man by Oscar Wilde: ordinary sense of that extraordinary word. Jesus says to him, 'You
should give up private property. It hinders you from realising
your perfection. It is a drag upon you. It is a burden. Your
personality does not need it. It is within you, and not outside of
you, that you will find what you really are, and what you really
want.' To his own friends he says the same thing. He tells them
to be themselves, and not to be always worrying about other things.
What do other things matter? Man is complete in himself. When
they go into the world, the world will disagree with them. That is
inevitable. The world hates Individualism. But that is not to
trouble them. They are to be calm and self-centred. If a man
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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 Complete Angler by Izaak Walton: be a very good way to use so many ledger-baits as you intend to make
trial oŁ
Or if you bait your hooks thus with live fish or frogs, and in a windy
day, fasten them thus to a bough or bundle of straw, and by the help of
that wind can get them to move across a pond or mere, you are like to
stand still on the shore and see sport presently, if there be any store of
Pikes. Or these live baits may make sport, being tied about the body or
wings of a goose or duck, and she chased over a pond. And the like may
be done with turning three or four live baits, thus fastened to bladders,
or boughs, or bottles of hay or flags, to swim down a river, whilst you
walk quietly a]one on the shore, and are still in expectaion of sport. The
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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 The Lesser Bourgeoisie by Honore de Balzac: speaking like a bourgeois, and I, in return, am afraid that you are
talking like a goddess. I admire you, I listen to you, but I am not
convinced. Such devotions, such sublime abnegations may be met with in
heaven, but in this low world who can hope to be the object of them?"
"You are mistaken, monsieur," replied the countess, with solemnity;
"such devotions are rare, but they are neither impossible nor
incredible; only, it is necessary to have the heart to find them, and,
above all, the hand to take them when they are offered to you."
So saying, the countess rose majestically.
La Peyrade saw that he had ended by displeasing her, and he felt that
she dismissed him. He rose himself, bowed respectfully, and asked to
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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 Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Bronte Sisters: 'Jests indeed! I wasn't jesting!'
'You were laughing, at all events; and I don't like to be laughed
at,' returned I, making violent efforts to speak with proper
dignity and composure, and to say nothing but what was coherent and
sensible. 'And since you are in such a merry mood, Miss Eliza, you
must be good enough company for yourself; and therefore I shall
leave you to finish your walk alone - for, now I think of it, I
have business elsewhere; so good-evening.'
With that I left her (smothering her malicious laughter) and turned
aside into the fields, springing up the bank, and pushing through
the nearest gap in the hedge. Determined at once to prove the
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall |
