| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Animal Farm by George Orwell: All the animals were now present except Moses, the tame raven, who slept
on a perch behind the back door. When Major saw that they had all made
themselves comfortable and were waiting attentively, he cleared his throat
and began:
"Comrades, you have heard already about the strange dream that I had last
night. But I will come to the dream later. I have something else to say
first. I do not think, comrades, that I shall be with you for many months
longer, and before I die, I feel it my duty to pass on to you such wisdom
as I have acquired. I have had a long life, I have had much time for
thought as I lay alone in my stall, and I think I may say that I
understand the nature of life on this earth as well as any animal now
Animal Farm |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare: Being purg'd, a fire sparkling in Louers eyes,
Being vext, a Sea nourisht with louing teares,
What is it else? a madnesse, most discreet,
A choking gall, and a preseruing sweet:
Farewell my Coze
Ben. Soft I will goe along.
And if you leaue me so, you do me wrong
Rom. Tut I haue lost my selfe, I am not here,
This is not Romeo, hee's some other where
Ben. Tell me in sadnesse, who is that you loue?
Rom. What shall I grone and tell thee?
Romeo and Juliet |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Aeneid by Virgil: He cleaves the crowd, and, favor'd by the night,
To Turnus' friendly court directs his flight.
By just revenge the Tuscans set on fire,
With arms, their king to punishment require:
Their num'rous troops, now muster'd on the strand,
My counsel shall submit to your command.
Their navy swarms upon the coasts; they cry
To hoist their anchors, but the gods deny.
An ancient augur, skill'd in future fate,
With these foreboding words restrains their hate:
'Ye brave in arms, ye Lydian blood, the flow'r
Aeneid |
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 Second Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling: strides, but Mowgli's feet had eyes in them, and they passed him
from tussock to tussock and clump to quaking clump without
asking help from the eyes in his head. He ran out to the middle
of the swamp, disturbing the duck as he ran, and sat down on a
moss-coated tree-trunk lapped in the black water. The marsh was
awake all round him, for in the spring the Bird People sleep
very lightly, and companies of them were coming or going the
night through. But no one took any notice of Mowgli sitting
among the tall reeds humming songs without words, and looking at
the soles of his hard brown feet in case of neglected thorns.
All his unhappiness seemed to have been left behind in his own
The Second Jungle Book |
