| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Far From the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy: the information, indirectly to get more of the music.
"Quite right. It's at the bottom of the hill. And
do you know -- --" The girl hesitated and then went
on again. "Do you know how late they keep open
the Buck's Head Inn?" She seemed" to be won by
Gabriel's heartiness, as Gabriel had been won by her
modulations.
"I don't know where the Buck's Head is, or anything
about it. Do you think of going there to-night?"
"Yes -- --" The woman again paused. There was
no necessity for any continuance of speech, and the fact
Far From the Madding Crowd |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Hunting of the Snark by Lewis Carroll: The good Bellman engaged him at once.
He came as a Butcher: but gravely declared,
When the ship had been sailing a week,
He could only kill Beavers. The Bellman looked scared,
And was almost too frightened to speak:
But at length he explained, in a tremulous tone,
There was only one Beaver on board;
And that was a tame one he had of his own,
Whose death would be deeply deplored.
The Beaver, who happened to hear the remark,
Protested, with tears in its eyes,
The Hunting of the Snark |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Barnaby Rudge by Charles Dickens: 'Tell him where it was done,' said the Black Lion to Joe.
'At the defence of the Savannah, father.'
'At the defence of the Salwanners,' repeated Mr Willet, softly;
again looking round the table.
'In America, where the war is,' said Joe.
'In America, where the war is,' repeated Mr Willet. 'It was took
off in the defence of the Salwanners in America where the war is.'
Continuing to repeat these words to himself in a low tone of voice
(the same information had been conveyed to him in the same terms,
at least fifty times before), Mr Willet arose from table, walked
round to Joe, felt his empty sleeve all the way up, from the cuff,
Barnaby Rudge |
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 Sportsman by Xenophon: [1] Or, "when there is hoar frost or black frost" (lit. "ice").
[2] Or, "the ice congeals them," "encases as it were in itself the
heat," i.e. the warm scent; aliter, "causes the tracks to freeze
at the top."
The hounds, moreover, with their noses nipped by the cold,[3] cannot
under these conditions[4] use their sense of smell, until the sun or
the mere advance of day dissolves the scent. Then the noses of the
hounds recover, and the scent of the trail begins to exhale itself
perceptibly.[5]
[3] Reading {malkiosai}, Cobet, "N. Lect." 131. "Mnem." 3, 306;
Rutherford, "N. Phry." p. 135. = "nipped, or numb with cold." For
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