| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Songs of Travel by Robert Louis Stevenson: You to the blinding palace-yard shall call
The prefect of the singers, and to him,
Listening devout, your valedictory verse
Deliver; he, his attribute fulfilled,
To the island chorus hand your measures on,
Wed now with harmony: so them, at last,
Night after night, in the open hall of dance,
Shall thirty matted men, to the clapped hand,
Intone and bray and bark. Unfortunate!
Paper and print alone shall honour mine.
THE SONG
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Verses 1889-1896 by Rudyard Kipling: What is the Flag of England? Ye have but my bergs to dare,
Ye have but my drifts to conquer. Go forth, for it is there!"
The South Wind sighed: -- "From the Virgins my mid-sea course was ta'en
Over a thousand islands lost in an idle main,
Where the sea-egg flames on the coral and the long-backed breakers croon
Their endless ocean legends to the lazy, locked lagoon.
"Strayed amid lonely islets, mazed amid outer keys,
I waked the palms to laughter -- I tossed the scud in the breeze --
Never was isle so little, never was sea so lone,
Verses 1889-1896 |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from The Mad King by Edgar Rice Burroughs: the splash, and jumped to the conclusion that both the king
and the princess had attempted to make their escape in this
harebrained way. Immediately all the resources at his com-
mand were put to the task of searching the moat and the
adjacent woods.
He was sure that one or both of the prisoners would be
stunned by impact with the surface of the water, and then
drowned before they regained consciousness, but he did not
know Bernard Custer, nor the facility and almost uncanny
ease with which that young man could negotiate a high dive
into shallow water.
The Mad King |
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 Salome by Oscar Wilde: choses epouvantables, mais il est impossible de le comprendre.
LE CAPPADOCIEN. Peut-on le voir?
PREMIER SOLDAT. Non. Le tetrarque ne le permet pas.
LE JEUNE SYRIEN. La princesse a cache son visage derriere son
eventail! Ses petites mains blanches s'agitent comme des colombes
qui s'envolent vers leurs colombiers. Elles ressemblent e des
papillons blancs. Elles sont tout e fait comme des papillons
blancs.
LE PAGE D'HERODIAS. Mais qu'est-ce que cela vous fait? Pourquoi la
regarder? Il ne faut pas la regarder . . . Il peut arriver un
malheur.
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