| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Unseen World and Other Essays by John Fiske: even condemning the Jews as children of darkness, and by
implication contrasting them unfavourably with the Gentiles; and
it contains a theory of the nature of Jesus which the Ebionitish
Christians, to whom John belonged, rejected to the last.
In his present edition Renan admits the insuperable force of
these objections, and abandons his theory of the apostolic origin
of the fourth gospel. And as this has necessitated the omission
or alteration of all such passages as rested upon the authority
of that gospel, the book is to a considerable extent rewritten,
and the changes are such as greatly to increase its value as a
history of Jesus. Nevertheless, the author has so long been in
The Unseen World and Other Essays |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Underdogs by Mariano Azuela: dian-fashion and inhaled the odor of the meat as it twist-
ed on the crackling fire. The rays of the sun, falling about
them, cast a golden radiance over the bloody hide of a
calf, lying on the ground nearby. The meat dangled from a
rope fastened to a huizache tree, to dry in the sun and
wind.
"Well, men," Demetrio said, "you know we've only
twenty rifles, besides my thirty-thirty. If there are just a
few of them, we'll shoot until there's not a live man left.
If there's a lot of 'em, we can give 'em a good scare, any-
how."
The Underdogs |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Rise and Fall of Cesar Birotteau by Honore de Balzac: manners and customs of shop-keeping, in which chaff is a principal
element of instruction. Monsieur and Madame Ragon spoke to him like a
dog. No one paid attention to his weariness, though many a night his
feet, blistered by the pavements of Paris, and his bruised shoulders,
made him suffer horribly. This harsh application of the maxim "each
for himself,"--the gospel of large cities,--made Cesar think the life
of Paris very hard. At night he cried as he thought of Touraine, where
the peasant works at his ease, where the mason lays a stone between
breakfast and dinner, and idleness is wisely mingled with labor; but
he always fell asleep without having time to think of running away,
for he had his errands to do in the morning, and obeyed his duty with
Rise and Fall of Cesar Birotteau |
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 Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe: then in.
One of the Englishmen returned very briskly, "What had they to do
there? that they came on shore without leave; and that they should
not plant or build upon the island; it was none of their ground."
"Why," says the Spaniard, very calmly, "Seignior Inglese, they must
not starve." The Englishman replied, like a rough tarpaulin, "They
might starve; they should not plant nor build in that place." "But
what must they do then, seignior?" said the Spaniard. Another of
the brutes returned, "Do? they should be servants, and work for
them." "But how can you expect that of them?" says the Spaniard;
"they are not bought with your money; you have no right to make
Robinson Crusoe |
