| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from God The Invisible King by H. G. Wells: and absolutes that makes men ashamed to admit that God is finite,
makes them seek to enhance the merits of their Saviour by the device
of everlasting fire. Conquest over the sorrow of life and the fear
of death do not seem to them sufficient for Christ's glory.
Now the turning round of the modern mind from a conception of the
universe as something derived deductively from the past to a
conception of it as something gathering itself adventurously towards
the future, involves a release from the supposed necessity to tell a
story and explain why. Instead comes the inquiry, "To what end?"
We can say without mental discomfort, these disharmonies are here,
this damnation is here--inexplicably. We can, without any
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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 American by Henry James: enough to know that words spoken as she just now spoke to you are final.
Besides, she has promised me."
"I have no doubt her promise is worth a great deal more than your own,"
said Newman; "nevertheless I don't give her up."
"Just as you please! But if she won't even see you,--and she won't,--
your constancy must remain purely Platonic."
Poor Newman was feigning a greater confidence than he felt.
Madame de Cintre's strange intensity had in fact struck a chill
to his heart; her face, still impressed upon his vision,
had been a terribly vivid image of renunciation. He felt sick,
and suddenly helpless. He turned away and stood for a moment
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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 Allan Quatermain by H. Rider Haggard: the sleeping Rademas, and of the angel form bent over him, illumining
it, and a small circle round it, with a soft clear light, reminding
me of that with which Catholics illumine the altars of their
cathedrals.
Here by the statue we took our stand, and waited. Sir Henry
and I close together, Umslopogaas some paces off in the darkness,
so that I could only just make out his towering outline leaning
on the outline of an axe.
So long did we wait that I almost fell asleep resting against
the cold marble, but was suddenly aroused by hearing Curtis give
a quick catching breath. Then from far away there came a little
Allan Quatermain |
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 Amy Foster by Joseph Conrad: on stretchers, on wattles, on ladders, in a long
procession past the door of the 'Ship Inn,' to be
laid out in a row under the north wall of the
Brenzett Church.
"Officially, the body of the little girl in the red
frock is the first thing that came ashore from that
ship. But I have patients amongst the seafaring
population of West Colebrook, and, unofficially, I
am informed that very early that morning two
brothers, who went down to look after their cobble
hauled up on the beach, found, a good way from
Amy Foster |
