| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Long Odds by H. Rider Haggard: "That was the first and last time that I ever killed a brace of lions
right and left, and, what is more, I never heard of anybody else doing
it. Naturally I was considerably pleased with myself, and having again
loaded up, I went on to look for the black-maned beauty who had killed
Kaptein. Slowly, and with the greatest care, I proceeded up the kloof,
searching every bush and tuft of grass as I went. It was wonderfully
exciting, work, for I never was sure from one moment to another but that
he would be on me. I took comfort, however, from the reflection that a
lion rarely attacks a man--rarely, I say; sometimes he does, as you will
see--unless he is cornered or wounded. I must have been nearly an hour
hunting after that lion. Once I thought I saw something move in a clump
Long Odds |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Charmides and Other Poems by Oscar Wilde: For in yon stream there is a little reed
That often whispers how a lovely boy
Lay with her once upon a grassy mead,
Who when his cruel pleasure he had done
Spread wings of rustling gold and soared aloft into the sun.
Be not so coy, the laurel trembles still
With great Apollo's kisses, and the fir
Whose clustering sisters fringe the seaward hill
Hath many a tale of that bold ravisher
Whom men call Boreas, and I have seen
The mocking eyes of Hermes through the poplar's silvery sheen.
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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 Barlaam and Ioasaph by St. John of Damascus: without number and beyond compare. I have been made in the image
of God, and have gained the knowledge of him, and have been
endowed with reason beyond all the beasts, and have been called
again from death unto life, through the tender mercy of our God,
and have received power to share in his mysteries; and the gate
of Paradise hath been opened to me, allowing me to enter without
hindrance, if I will. Wherefore for gifts so many and so fine,
shared alike by rich and poor, I can indeed in no wise praise him
as I ought, yet if I fail to render to the Giver this little hymn
of praise, what excuse shall I have?'
"The youth, astonished at her wit, called to her father, and said
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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 Voyage of the Beagle by Charles Darwin: south side we came to the best country for wild cattle; w
met, however, no great number, for they had been latel
much harassed.
In the evening we came across a small herd. One of m
companions, St. Jago by name, soon separated a fat cow
he threw the bolas, and it struck her legs, but failed in
becoming entangled. Then dropping his hat to mark the spo
where the balls were left, while at full gallop, he uncoile
his lazo, and after a most severe chase, again came up t
the cow, and caught her round the horns. The other Gauch
had gone on ahead with the spare horses, so that St. Jag
The Voyage of the Beagle |
