| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Call of the Canyon by Zane Grey: she turned to him with gay utterance upon her lips. She tried to put out of
her mind a dawning sense that this close-to-the-earth habitation, this
primitive dwelling, held strange inscrutable power over a self she had
never divined she possessed. The very stones in the hearth seemed to call
out from some remote past, and the strong sweet smell of burnt wood
thrilled to the marrow of her bones. How little she knew of herself! But
she had intelligence enough to understand that there was a woman in her,
the female of the species; and through that the sensations from logs and
stones and earth and fire had strange power to call up the emotions handed
down to her from the ages. The thrill, the queer heartbeat, the vague,
haunting memory of something, as of a dim childhood adventure, the strange
The Call of the Canyon |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from On Horsemanship by Xenophon: man, may contrive to bring on himself and his rider irreparable
mischief.
[3] Or, "long stretches rather than a succession of turns and counter
turns," {apostrophai}.
[4] Reading {katapsosi} with L. Dind.
[5] {agein bia}, vi agere, vi uti, Sturz; al. "go his own gait by
sheer force."
A spirited horse should be kept in check, so that he does not dash off
at full speed; and on the same principle, you should absolutely
abstain from setting him to race against another; as a general rule,
your fiery-spirited horse is only too fond of contention.[6]
On Horsemanship |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Montezuma's Daughter by H. Rider Haggard: the Teule that was the god Tezcat, and who escaped the sacrifice
to-day. Listen, nobles. What is to be done with this man? Say,
is it lawful that he be led back to sacrifice?'
Then the priest answered: 'I grieve to say that it is not lawful
most noble prince. This man has lain on the altar of the god, he
has even been wounded by the holy knife. But the god rejected him
in a fateful hour, and he must lie there no more. Slay him if you
will, but not upon the stone of sacrifice.'
'What then shall be done with him?' said the prince again.
'He is of the blood of the Teules, and therefore an enemy. One
thing is certain; he must not be suffered to join the white devils
Montezuma's Daughter |
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 Pagan and Christian Creeds by Edward Carpenter: river or lake, or even from the sea, or from a wild
animal, as a bear, lion, tiger, eagle, or the bird they call
cuntur (condor), or some other bird of prey."[2] According
to Lewis Morgan, the North American Indians of various
tribes had for totems the wolf, bear, beaver, turtle, deer,
snipe, heron, hawk, crane, loon, turkey, muskrat; pike, catfish,
carp; buffalo, elk, reindeer, eagle, hare, rabbit, snake;
reed-grass, sand, rock, and tobacco-plant.
[1] See The Golden Bough, vol. iv, p. 31.
[2] See Andrew Lang, Custom and Myth, p. 104, also Myth, Ritual
and Religion, vol. i, pp. 71, 76, etc.
Pagan and Christian Creeds |
