| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Resurrection by Leo Tolstoy: a half-hearted and negligent way, but once, without knowing how
it happened, was very rude to them, and gave them notice, a thing
she repented of later, and the ladies let her go, noticing
something wrong and very dissatisfied with her. Then she got a
housemaid's place in a police-officer's house, but stayed there
only three months, for the police officer, a man of fifty, began
to torment her, and once, when he was in a specially enterprising
mood, she fired up, called him "a fool and old devil," and gave
him such a knock in the chest that he fell. She was turned out
for her rudeness. It was useless to look for another situation,
for the time of her confinement was drawing near, so she went to
Resurrection |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad: "The manager appeared silently in the doorway; I stepped
out at once and he drew the curtain after me. The Russian,
eyed curiously by the pilgrims, was staring at the shore.
I followed the direction of his glance.
"Dark human shapes could be made out in the distance,
flitting indistinctly against the gloomy border of the forest,
and near the river two bronze figures, leaning on tall spears,
stood in the sunlight under fantastic head-dresses of
spotted skins, warlike and still in statuesque repose.
And from right to left along the lighted shore moved a wild
and gorgeous apparition of a woman.
Heart of Darkness |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Resurrection by Leo Tolstoy: longed passionately not only for freedom, but also for the
punishment of those who had arranged and who kept up this cruel
injustice. Kondratieff devoted himself with passion to the
acquirement of knowledge. It was not clear to him how knowledge
should bring about the realisation of the social ideal, but he
believed that the knowledge that had shown him the injustice of
the state in which he lived would also abolish that injustice
itself. Besides knowledge would, in his opinion, raise him above
others. Therefore he left off drinking_ and smoking, and devoted
all his leisure time to study. The revolutionist gave him
lessons, and his thirst for every kind of knowledge, and the
Resurrection |
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 Crito by Plato: tale. But if he offends them he will have to learn another sort of lesson.
Will he continue to give lectures in virtue? That would hardly be decent.
And how will his children be the gainers if he takes them into Thessaly,
and deprives them of Athenian citizenship? Or if he leaves them behind,
does he expect that they will be better taken care of by his friends
because he is in Thessaly? Will not true friends care for them equally
whether he is alive or dead?
Finally, they exhort him to think of justice first, and of life and
children afterwards. He may now depart in peace and innocence, a sufferer
and not a doer of evil. But if he breaks agreements, and returns evil for
evil, they will be angry with him while he lives; and their brethren the
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