| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Around the World in 80 Days by Jules Verne: "That will suit my master all the better," said Passepartout.
"I will go and let him know."
Fix now decided to make a bold move; he resolved to tell Passepartout all.
It seemed to be the only possible means of keeping Phileas Fogg several days
longer at Hong Kong. He accordingly invited his companion into a tavern
which caught his eye on the quay. On entering, they found themselves
in a large room handsomely decorated, at the end of which was a large
camp-bed furnished with cushions. Several persons lay upon this bed
in a deep sleep. At the small tables which were arranged about the room
some thirty customers were drinking English beer, porter, gin, and brandy;
smoking, the while, long red clay pipes stuffed with little balls of opium
Around the World in 80 Days |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from What is Man? by Mark Twain: UNREACHED. You can write three times as many words in a minute
with it as you can write with our alphabet. And so, in a way, it
IS properly a shorthand. It has a pleasant look, too; a
beguiling look, an inviting look. I will write something in it,
in my rude and untaught way: [Figure 8]
Even when _I_ do it it comes out prettier than it does in
Simplified Spelling. Yes, and in the Simplified it costs one
hundred and twenty-three pen-strokes to write it, whereas in the
phonographic it costs only twenty-nine.
[Figure 9] is probably [Figure 10].
Let us hope so, anyway.
What is Man? |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Agesilaus by Xenophon: regard; and the comrade, so appealed to, demanding, "If I persuade
him, will you bestow on him a kiss?" Agesilaus fell into a silence,
but presently exclaimed: "No, by the Twins, not if I might this very
instant become the swiftest-footed, strongest, and handsomest of
men.[6] And as to that battle I swear by all the gods I would far
rather fight it over again than that everything on which I set my eyes
might turn to gold."[7]
[3] See Plut. "Ages." (Clough, iv. p. 13 foll.)
[4] Reading, {kai lian gennikon}; or, "a refinement of self-respect,"
"a self-respect perhaps even over-sensitive."
[5] Lit. "made no further attempt to offer kisses."
|
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 One Basket by Edna Ferber: straightened a picture. Eva got up, too, and wandered into the
hall. She stood there a moment, listening. Then she turned and
passed into Jo's bedroom, Stell following. And there you knew Jo
for what he was.
This room was as bare as the other had been ornate. It was Jo,
the clean-minded and simplehearted, in revolt against the cloying
luxury with which he had surrounded himself. The bedroom, of all
rooms in any house, reflects the personality of its occupant.
True, the actual furniture was paneled, cupid-surmounted, and
ridiculous. It had been the fruit of Jo's first orgy of the
senses. But now it stood out in that stark little room with an
One Basket |
