| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Pupil by Henry James: the moment had struck him as favourable to an earnest protest, the
presentation of an ultimatum. Ridiculous as it sounded, he had
never yet been able to compass an uninterrupted private interview
with the elder pair or with either of them singly. They were
always flanked by their elder children, and poor Pemberton usually
had his own little charge at his side. He was conscious of its
being a house in which the surface of one's delicacy got rather
smudged; nevertheless he had preserved the bloom of his scruple
against announcing to Mr. and Mrs. Moreen with publicity that he
shouldn't be able to go on longer without a little money. He was
still simple enough to suppose Ulick and Paula and Amy might not
|
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Study of a Woman by Honore de Balzac: Here I must pause to put before all ignorant persons an explanation of
that word, derived from a very distinguished etymologist who wishes
his name kept secret.
"Burgundian" is the name given, since the reign of Charles VI., to
those noisy detonations, the result of which is to fling upon the
carpet or the clothes a little coal or ember, the trifling nucleus of
a conflagration. Heat or fire releases, they say, a bubble of air left
in the heart of the wood by a gnawing worm. "Inde amor, inde
burgundus." We tremble when we see the structure we had so carefully
erected between the logs rolling down like an avalanche. Oh! to build
and stir and play with fire when we love is the material development
|
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from The Cavalry General by Xenophon: an index to prevent your fellows being overdone through inadvertence.
[1] The phrase is proverbial. Cf. Plat. "Theaet." 183 B.
But now supposing you are on the march in some direction, and it is
uncertain whether you will stumble on the enemy, your duty is to rest
your squadrons in turn; since it will go hard with you, if the enemy
come to close quarters when the whole force is dismounted.[2] Or,
again, suppose the roads are narrow, or you have to cross a defile,
you will pass, by word of mouth, the command to diminish the front;[3]
or given, again, you are debouching on broad roads, again the word of
command will pass by word of mouth, to every squadron, "to increase
their front"; or lastly, supposing you have reached flat country, "to
|
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 Insidious Dr. Fu-Manchu by Sax Rohmer: later two dangerous-looking seafaring ruffians entered a waiting cab,
accompanied by Inspector Weymouth, and were driven off into
the wilderness of London's night. In this theatrical business
there was, to my mind, something ridiculous--almost childish--
and I could have laughed heartily had it not been that grim
tragedy lurked so near to farce.
The mere recollection that somewhere at our journey's end Fu-Manchu
awaited us was sufficient to sober my reflections--Fu-Manchu, who,
with all the powers represented by Nayland Smith pitted against him,
pursued his dark schemes triumphantly, and lurked in hiding within
this very area which was so sedulously patrolled--Fu-Manchu, whom
The Insidious Dr. Fu-Manchu |
