| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Of The Nature of Things by Lucretius: When the strong wine has entered into man,
And its diffused fire gone round the veins,
Why follows then a heaviness of limbs,
A tangle of the legs as round he reels,
A stuttering tongue, an intellect besoaked,
Eyes all aswim, and hiccups, shouts, and brawls,
And whatso else is of that ilk?- Why this?-
If not that violent and impetuous wine
Is wont to confound the soul within the body?
But whatso can confounded be and balked,
Gives proof, that if a hardier cause got in,
Of The Nature of Things |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Pool in the Desert by Sara Jeanette Duncan: Tottenham may flash across her field of vision--alas, how
improbable! Myself I can not imagine why she should wish it; I have
grown in my old age into a perfect horror of cultivated young men;
but if such a person should by a miracle at any time appear, I think
it is extremely improbable that I will interfere on his behalf.
2. An Impossible Ideal.
Chapter 2.I.
To understand how we prized him, Dora Harris and I, it is necessary
to know Simla. I suppose people think of that place, if they ever
do think of it, as an agreeable retreat in the wilds of the
Himalayas where deodars and scandals grow, and where the Viceroy if
|
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from The People That Time Forgot by Edgar Rice Burroughs: afraid--afraid for me, who am cosata-lo. He called me to
him and told me what he had heard, pointing out two ways in
which we might frustrate Du-seen. The first was that I go to
Du-seen as his mate, after which he would be loath to give me
into the hands of the Wieroo or to further abide by the wicked
compact he had made--a compact which would doom his own
offspring, who would doubtless be as am I, their mother.
The alternative was flight until Du-seen should have been overcome
and punished. I chose the latter and fled toward the south.
Beyond the confines of the Galu country is little danger from
the Wieroo, who seek ordinarily only Galus of the highest orders.
The People That Time Forgot |
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 Lady Susan by Jane Austen: my meaning in bidding you adieu. My understanding is at length restored,
and teaches no less to abhor the artifices which had subdued me than to
despise myself for the weakness on which their strength was founded.
R. DE COURCY.
XXXVII
LADY SUSAN TO MR. DE COURCY
Upper Seymour Street.
I am satisfied, and will trouble you no more when these few lines are
dismissed. The engagement which you were eager to form a fortnight ago is
no longer compatible with your views, and I rejoice to find that the
prudent advice of your parents has not been given in vain. Your restoration
Lady Susan |
