| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Egmont by Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe: idol of his countrymen. When in 1559 a new Regent of the Netherlands
was to be created, the people hoped that Philip II, who had succeeded
Charles, would choose Egmont; but instead he appointed his half-sister
Margaret, Duchess of Parma. Under the new Regent the persecution of the
Protestants was rigorously pressed, and in 1565 Egmont, though a
Catholic, was sent to Madrid to plead for clemency. He was received by
the King with every appearance of cordiality, but shortly after his return
home the Duke of Alva was sent to the Netherlands with instructions to
put down with an iron hand all resistance to his master's will. How terribly
he carried out his orders has been told by Prescott and Motley. Egmont
was an early victim, but his martyrdom, with that of Count Horn, and later
Egmont |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Art of War by Sun Tzu: [Literally, "no martial advance." That is to say, CHENG
tactics and frontal attacks must be eschewed, and stratagem
resorted to instead.]
What we can do is simply to concentrate all our available
strength, keep a close watch on the enemy, and obtain
reinforcements.
[This is an obscure sentence, and none of the commentators
succeed in squeezing very good sense out of it. I follow Li
Ch`uan, who appears to offer the simplest explanation: "Only the
side that gets more men will win." Fortunately we have Chang Yu
to expound its meaning to us in language which is lucidity
The Art of War |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Albert Savarus by Honore de Balzac: All that day she drew her needle through her embroidery with the
obtuse concentration of a girl who, like Agnes, seems to be thinking
of nothing, but who is reflecting on things in general so deeply, that
her artifice is unfailing. As a result of this profound meditation,
Rosalie thought she would go to confession. Next morning, after Mass,
she had a brief interview with the Abbe Giroud at Saint-Pierre, and
managed so ingeniously that the hour of her confession was fixed for
Sunday morning at half-past seven, before the eight o'clock Mass. She
committed herself to a dozen fibs in order to find herself, just for
once, in the church at the hour when the lawyer came to Mass. Then she
was seized with an impulse of extreme affection for her father; she
Albert Savarus |
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 Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen: by the wish of retaining Mr. Bingley for his sister.
The agitation and tears which the subject occasioned, brought on
a headache; and it grew so much worse towards the evening,
that, added to her unwillingness to see Mr. Darcy, it determined
her not to attend her cousins to Rosings, where they were
engaged to drink tea. Mrs. Collins, seeing that she was really
unwell, did not press her to go and as much as possible
prevented her husband from pressing her; but Mr. Collins could
not conceal his apprehension of Lady Catherine's being rather
displeased by her staying at home.
Chapter 34
Pride and Prejudice |
