| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Macbeth by William Shakespeare: Are but as Pictures: 'tis the Eye of Childhood,
That feares a painted Deuill. If he doe bleed,
Ile guild the Faces of the Groomes withall,
For it must seeme their Guilt.
Enter.
Knocke within.
Macb. Whence is that knocking?
How is't with me, when euery noyse appalls me?
What Hands are here? hah: they pluck out mine Eyes.
Will all great Neptunes Ocean wash this blood
Cleane from my Hand? no: this my Hand will rather
Macbeth |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Salome by Oscar Wilde: LE JEUNE SYRIEN. Non, non, princesse!
SALOME. Il faut que je le regarde de pres.
LE JEUNE SYRIEN. Princesse! Princesse!
IOKANAAN. Qui est cette femme qui me regarde? Je ne veux pas
qu'elle me regarde. Pourquoi me regarde-t-elle avec ses yeux d'or
sous ses paupieres dorees? Je ne sais pas qui c'est. Je ne veux
pas le savoir. Dites-lui de s'en aller. Ce n'est pas e elle que je
veux parler.
SALOME. Je suis Salome, fille d'Herodias, princesse de Judee.
IOKANAAN. Arriere! Fille de Babylone! N'approchez pas de l'elu du
Seigneur. Ta mere a rempli la terre du vin de ses iniquites, et le
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| 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: Th' Ausonian bands with shouts salute the sight,
Eager of action, and demand the fight.
Then King Tolumnius, vers'd in augurs' arts,
Cries out, and thus his boasted skill imparts:
"At length 't is granted, what I long desir'd!
This, this is what my frequent vows requir'd.
Ye gods, I take your omen, and obey.
Advance, my friends, and charge! I lead the way.
These are the foreign foes, whose impious band,
Like that rapacious bird, infest our land:
But soon, like him, they shall be forc'd to sea
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 Fisherman's Luck by Henry van Dyke: strong stakes behind it, slanting a little backward; and lay the
other logs on top of the first, resting against the stakes.
Now you are ready for the hand-chunks, or andirons. These are
shorter sticks of wood, eight or ten inches thick, laid at right
angles to the backlog, four or five feet apart. Across these you
are to build up the firewood proper.
Use a dry spruce-tree, not one that has fallen, but one that is dead
and still standing, if you want a lively, snapping fire. Use a hard
maple or a hickory if you want a fire that will burn steadily and
make few sparks. But if you like a fire to blaze up at first with a
splendid flame, and then burn on with an enduring heat far into the
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