| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Little Rivers by Henry van Dyke: housekeeping."
"And then," added my philosopher in skirts, "it is certainly
refreshing to get away from all one's relations for a little
while."
"But how do you make that out?" I asked, in mild surprise. "What
are you going to do with me?"
"Oh," said she, with a fine air of independence, "I don't count
you. You are not a relation, only a connection by marriage."
"Well, my dear," I answered, between the meditative puffs of my
pipe, "it is good to consider the advantages of our present
situation. We shall soon come into the frame of mind of the Sultan
|
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Tanglewood Tales by Nathaniel Hawthorne: into a strange part of the sea, where neither himself nor any
of his mariners had ever sailed. This misfortune was entirely
owing to the foolish curiosity of his shipmates, who, while
Ulysses lay asleep, had untied some very bulky leathern bags,
in which they supposed a valuable treasure to be concealed. But
in each of these stout bags, King Aeolus, the ruler of the
winds, had tied up a tempest, and had given it to Ulysses to
keep in order that he might be sure of a favorable passage
homeward to Ithaca; and when the strings were loosened, forth
rushed the whistling blasts, like air out of a blown bladder,
whitening the sea with foam, and scattering the vessels nobody
Tanglewood Tales |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Lay Morals by Robert Louis Stevenson: enchanted princess, waiting but a touch to become royal? She
saw herself transformed, radiantly attired, but in the most
exquisite taste: her face grown longer and more refined; her
tint etherealised; and she heard herself with delighted
wonder talking like a book.
Meanwhile they had arrived at where the track comes out above
the river dell, and saw in front of them the castle, faintly
shadowed on the night, covering with its broken battlements a
bold projection of the bank, and showing at the extreme end,
where were the habitable tower and wing, some crevices of
candle-light. Hence she called loudly upon her uncle, and he
|
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 Agesilaus by Xenophon: he engendered an eagerness to discharge the obligation, not unlike
that of the condemned man, casting about to discover some one to die
in his place.[11] He further ordered some of the states themselves to
furnish contingents of mounted troopers, and this in the conviction
that from such training-centres he would presently get a pick of
cavaliers proud of their horsemanship. And thus once more he won
golden opinions by the skill with which he provided himself with a
body of cavalry in the plenitude of strength and ripe for active
service.
[11] Instead of the plain {zetoie} of the parallel passage ("Hell."
III. iv. 15) the encomiast prefers the poetical {masteuoi}.
|
