| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Second Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling: him and things were bounding over the edge of the cliff--great
lumps, it seemed, of clustered bees falling like plummets;
but before any lump touched water the bees flew upward and the
body of a dhole whirled down-stream. Overhead they could hear
furious short yells that were drowned in a roar like breakers--
the roar of the wings of the Little People of the Rocks. Some of
the dholes, too, had fallen into the gullies that communicated
with the underground caves, and there choked and fought and
snapped among the tumbled honeycombs, and at last, borne up,
even when they were dead, on the heaving waves of bees beneath
them, shot out of some hole in the river-face, to roll over on
The Second Jungle Book |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Rescue by Joseph Conrad: "Fighting! I am not aware that anybody wants to fight me. I am a
peaceable man, Captain Lingard, but when put to it, I could fight
as well as any of them flat-nosed chaps we have to make shift
with, instead of a proper crew of decent Christians. Fighting!"
he went on with unexpected pugnacity of tone, "Fighting! If
anybody comes to fight me, he will find me all there, I swear!"
"That's all right. That's all right," said Lingard, stretching
his arms above his head and wriggling his shoulders. "My word! I
do wish a breeze would come to let us get away from here. I am
rather in a hurry, Shaw."
"Indeed, sir! Well, I never yet met a thorough seafaring man who
The Rescue |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from The Apology by Xenophon: reasonably deem wise, rather than such a one as myself, who, from the
moment I began to understand things spoken,[32] have never omitted to
inquire into and learn every good thing in my power? And that I
laboured not in vain, what more conclusive evidence than the fact that
so many of my fellow-citizens who make virtue their pursuit, and many
strangers also, choose my society in preference to that of others?[33]
And how are we to explain the fact that though all know well enough
that I am wholly unable to repay them in money, so many are eager to
present me with some gift?[34] And what do you make of this--while no
one dreams of dunning me for benefits conferred, hosts of people
acknowledge debts of gratitude to myself? And what of this, that
The Apology |
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 Dream Life and Real Life by Olive Schreiner: awful pain! Oh, if I could only die!"
The older woman stood looking into the fire; then slowly and measuredly she
said, "There are times, in life, when everything seems dark, when the brain
reels, and we cannot see that there is anything but death. But, if we wait
long enough, after long, long years, calm comes. It may be we cannot say
it was well; but we are contented, we accept the past. The struggle is
ended. That day may come for you, perhaps sooner than you think." She
spoke slowly and with difficulty.
"No, it can never come for me. If once I have loved a thing, I love it for
ever. I can never forget."
"Love is not the only end in life. There are other things to live for."
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