| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Soul of Man by Oscar Wilde: his ignorance, or the egotism of his information. This point about
the drama is hardly, I think, sufficiently recognised. I can quite
understand that were 'Macbeth' produced for the first time before a
modern London audience, many of the people present would strongly
and vigorously object to the introduction of the witches in the
first act, with their grotesque phrases and their ridiculous words.
But when the play is over one realises that the laughter of the
witches in 'Macbeth' is as terrible as the laughter of madness in
'Lear,' more terrible than the laughter of Iago in the tragedy of
the Moor. No spectator of art needs a more perfect mood of
receptivity than the spectator of a play. The moment he seeks to
|
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe: entreaties and even the commands of my father - I say, the same
influence, whatever it was, presented the most unfortunate of all
enterprises to my view; and I went on board a vessel bound to the
coast of Africa; or, as our sailors vulgarly called it, a voyage to
Guinea.
It was my great misfortune that in all these adventures I did not
ship myself as a sailor; when, though I might indeed have worked a
little harder than ordinary, yet at the same time I should have
learnt the duty and office of a fore-mast man, and in time might
have qualified myself for a mate or lieutenant, if not for a
master. But as it was always my fate to choose for the worse, so I
Robinson Crusoe |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Heroes by Charles Kingsley: not, stands written in ancient songs, which you shall read
for yourselves some day. And grand old songs they are,
written in grand old rolling verse; and they call them the
Songs of Orpheus, or the Orphics, to this day. And they tell
how the heroes came to Aphetai, across the bay, and waited
for the south-west wind, and chose themselves a captain from
their crew: and how all called for Heracles, because he was
the strongest and most huge; but Heracles refused, and called
for Jason, because he was the wisest of them all. So Jason
was chosen captain; and Orpheus heaped a pile of wood, and
slew a bull, and offered it to Hera, and called all the
|
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 Symposium by Xenophon: attracts me,[21] I swear by all the company of heaven I would not
choose the great king's empire in exchange for what I am--the beauty
of the world, the paragon of animals.[22] And at this instant I feast
my eyes on Cleinias[23] gladlier than on all other sights which men
deem fair. Joyfully will I welcome blindness to all else, if but these
eyes may still behold him and him only. With sleep and night I am sore
vexed, which rob me of his sight; but to daylight and the sun I owe
eternal thanks, for they restore him to me, my heart's joy,
Cleinias.[24]
[20] Or, "beautiful and good."
[21] Or, "whose fair face draws me." Was Cleinias there as a "muta
The Symposium |
