| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus by L. Frank Baum: Yet Burzee has its inhabitants--for all this. Nature peopled it in
the beginning with Fairies, Knooks, Ryls and Nymphs. As long as the
Forest stands it will be a home, a refuge and a playground to these
sweet immortals, who revel undisturbed in its depths.
Civilization has never yet reached Burzee. Will it ever, I wonder?
2. The Child of the Forest
Once, so long ago our great-grandfathers could scarcely have heard it
mentioned, there lived within the great Forest of Burzee a wood-nymph
named Necile. She was closely related to the mighty Queen Zurline,
and her home was beneath the shade of a widespreading oak. Once every
year, on Budding Day, when the trees put forth their new buds, Necile
The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne: and disappeared down the ladder. I followed him, and went into
the large drawing-room. The screw was immediately put in motion,
and the log gave twenty miles an hour.
During the days and weeks that passed, Captain Nemo
was very sparing of his visits. I seldom saw him.
The lieutenant pricked the ship's course regularly on the chart,
so I could always tell exactly the route of the Nautilus.
Nearly every day, for some time, the panels of the drawing-room were opened,
and we were never tired of penetrating the mysteries of the submarine world.
The general direction of the Nautilus was south-east, and it kept between 100
and 150 yards of depth. One day, however, I do not know why, being drawn
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Cratylus by Plato: half the dialogue. But then, we remember that the Euthydemus is a still
longer jest, in which the irony is preserved to the very end. There he is
parodying the ingenious follies of early logic; in the Cratylus he is
ridiculing the fancies of a new school of sophists and grammarians. The
fallacies of the Euthydemus are still retained at the end of our logic
books; and the etymologies of the Cratylus have also found their way into
later writers. Some of these are not much worse than the conjectures of
Hemsterhuis, and other critics of the last century; but this does not prove
that they are serious. For Plato is in advance of his age in his
conception of language, as much as he is in his conception of mythology.
(Compare Phaedrus.)
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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 Domestic Peace by Honore de Balzac: madame, to keep his word. But then I know Martial; such threats are to
him an encouragement. And, besides, we have wagered----" Here the
Colonel lowered his voice.
"Can it be true?" said the Countess.
"On my word of honor."
"Thank you, my dear Colonel," replied Madame de Vaudremont, with a
glance full of invitation.
"Will you do me the honor of dancing with me?"
"Yes; but the next quadrille. During this one I want to find out what
will come of this little intrigue, and to ascertain who the little
blue lady may be; she looks intelligent."
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