| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Witch, et. al by Anton Chekhov: half-moon looked bigger and the stars shone more brightly. Then
came a scent of dampness; the postman shrank further into his
collar, the student felt an unpleasant chill first creeping about
his feet, then over the mail bags, over his hands and his face.
The horses moved more slowly; the bell was mute as though it were
frozen. There was the sound of the splash of water, and stars
reflected in the water danced under the horses' feet and round
the wheels.
But ten minutes later it became so dark that neither the stars
nor the moon could be seen. The mail cart had entered the forest.
Prickly pine branches were continually hitting the student on his
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Perfect Wagnerite: A Commentary on the Niblung's Ring by George Bernard Shaw: unmitigated and abominable nuisance, bound to be beaten out of us
finally by the mere weight of our experience of its evil and
uselessness. But it will not be replaced by anarchy. Applied to
the industrial or political machinery of modern society, anarchy
must always reduce itself speedily to absurdity. Even the
modified form of anarchy on which modern civilization is based:
that is, the abandonment of industry, in the name of individual
liberty, to the upshot of competition for personal gain between
private capitalists, is a disastrous failure, and is, by the
mere necessities of the case, giving way to ordered Socialism.
For the economic rationale of this, I must refer disciples of
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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 The Art of War by Sun Tzu: of a dialogue between T`ai Tsung and his great general Li Ching,
it is usually ascribed to the latter. Competent authorities
consider it a forgery, though the author was evidently well
versed in the art of war.
7. LI CHING PING FA (not to be confounded with the
foregoing) is a short treatise in 8 chapters, preserved in the
T`ung Tien, but not published separately. This fact explains its
omission from the SSU K`U CH`UAN SHU.
8. WU CH`I CHING, in 1 CHUAN. Attributed to the legendary
minister Feng Hou, with exegetical notes by Kung-sun Hung of the
Han dynasty (d. 121 B.C.), and said to have been eulogized by the
The Art of War |
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 A Second Home by Honore de Balzac: This was the course of young Granville's feelings during that
fortnight, devoured by him like a book of which the end is absorbing.
Angelique, carefully watched by him, seemed the gentlest of creatures,
and he even caught himself feeling grateful to Madame Bontems, who, by
implanting so deeply the principles of religion, had in some degree
inured her to meet the troubles of life.
On the day named for signing the inevitable contract, Madame Bontems
made her son-in-law pledge himself solemnly to respect her daughter's
religious practices, to allow her entire liberty of conscience, to
permit her to go to communion, to church, to confession as often as
she pleased, and never to control her choice of priestly advisers. At
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