| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Ann Veronica by H. G. Wells: "I don't think she will," she said.
"She must," said Mr. Stanley, and went into his study. His
sister followed. "She can't go now. She'll have to wait for
dinner," he said, uncomfortably.
"She's going to have some sort of meal with the Widgetts down the
Avenue, and go up with them.
"She told you that?"
"Yes."
"When?"
"At tea."
"But why didn't you prohibit once for all the whole thing? How
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from De Profundis by Oscar Wilde: love that one could approach either the heart of the leper or the
feet of God.
And above all, Christ is the most supreme of individualists.
Humility, like the artistic, acceptance of all experiences, is
merely a mode of manifestation. It is man's soul that Christ is
always looking for. He calls it 'God's Kingdom,' and finds it in
every one. He compares it to little things, to a tiny seed, to a
handful of leaven, to a pearl. That is because one realises one's
soul only by getting rid of all alien passions, all acquired
culture, and all external possessions, be they good or evil.
I bore up against everything with some stubbornness of will and
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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 Wife, et al by Anton Chekhov: "Yes, it will be pleasant to have some one fresh to talk to."
My tutor was looked upon among us as an exceptional nature. He
was a young man of twenty, with a pimply face, shaggy locks, a
low forehead, and an unusually long nose. His nose was so big
that when he wanted to look close at anything he had to put his
head on one side like a bird. To our thinking, there was not a
man in the province cleverer, more cultivated, or more stylish.
He had left the high-school in the class next to the top, and had
then entered a veterinary college, from which he was expelled
before the end of the first half-year. The reason of his
expulsion he carefully concealed, which enabled any one who
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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 Waste Land by T. S. Eliot: And if it rains, a closed car at four.
And we shall play a game of chess,
Pressing lidless eyes and waiting for a knock upon the door.
When Lil's husband got demobbed, I said --
I didn't mince my words, I said to her myself, 140
HURRY UP PLEASE IT'S TIME
Now Albert's coming back, make yourself a bit smart.
He'll want to know what you done with that money he gave you
To get yourself some teeth. He did, I was there.
You have them all out, Lil, and get a nice set,
He said, I swear, I can't bear to look at you.
The Waste Land |
