| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen: "Dear creature! How much I am obliged to you;
and when you have finished Udolpho, we will read the
Italian together; and I have made out a list of ten
or twelve more of the same kind for you."
"Have you, indeed! How glad I am! What are they all?"
"I will read you their names directly; here they are,
in my pocketbook. Castle of Wolfenbach, Clermont,
Mysterious Warnings, Necromancer of the Black Forest,
Midnight Bell, Orphan of the Rhine, and Horrid Mysteries.
Those will last us some time."
"Yes, pretty well; but are they all horrid, are you
Northanger Abbey |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx: that originated under the pressure of a bourgeoisie in power, and
that was the expression of the struggle against this power, was
introduced into Germany at a time when the bourgeoisie, in that
country, had just begun its contest with feudal absolutism.
German philosophers, would-be philosophers, and beaux esprits,
eagerly seized on this literature, only forgetting, that when
these writings immigrated from France into Germany, French social
conditions had not immigrated along with them. In contact with
German social conditions, this French literature lost all its
immediate practical significance, and assumed a purely literary
aspect. Thus, to the German philosophers of the eighteenth
The Communist Manifesto |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Gambara by Honore de Balzac: But Mahomet elevates it once more by his great prophetic scene, which
poor Monsieur Voltaire begins with these words:
"Arabia's time at last has come!
"He is interrupted by a chorus of triumphant Arabs (twelve-eight time,
/accelerando/). The tribes arrive in crowds; the horns and brass
reappear in the orchestra. General rejoicings ensue, all the voices
joining in by degrees, and Mahomet announces polygamy. In the midst of
all this triumph, the woman who has been of such faithful service to
Mahomet sings a magnificent air (in B major). 'And I,' says she, 'am I
no longer loved?' 'We must part. Thou art but a woman, and I am a
Prophet; I may still have slaves but no equal.' Just listen to this
Gambara |
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 Koran: what was brought unto the Prophets from their Lord; we will not
distinguish between any one of them, and unto Him are we resigned.'
If they believe in that in which ye believe, then are they guided;
but if they turn back, then are they only in a schism, and God will
suffice thee against them, for He both hears and knows.
The dye of God! and who is better than God at dyeing? and we are
worshippers of Him.
Say, 'Do ye dispute with us concerning God, and He is our Lord and
your Lord? Ye have your works and we have ours, and unto Him are we
sincere.'
Do ye say that Abraham, and Ishmael, and Isaac, and Jacob, and the
The Koran |
