| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Economist by Xenophon: sight for friendly eyes to gaze at, albeit an eyesore to the enemy.
For who, being of their party, but will feel a thrill of satisfaction
as he watches the serried masses of heavy infantry moving onwards in
unbroken order? who but will gaze with wonderment as the squadrons of
the cavalry dash past him at the gallop? And what of the foeman? will
not his heart sink within him to see the orderly arrangements of the
different arms:[8] here heavy infantry and cavalry, and there again
light infantry, there archers and there slingers, following each their
leaders, with orderly precision. As they tramp onwards thus in order,
though they number many myriads, yet even so they move on and on in
quiet progress, stepping like one man, and the place just vacated in
|
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Life of the Spider by J. Henri Fabre: would feed on their mother, after the manner of parasitic vermin,
and gradually drain her strength.
We must abandon this notion. Never are they seen to put their
mouths to the skin that should be a sort of teat to them. On the
other hand, the Lycosa, far from being exhausted and shrivelling,
keeps perfectly well and plump. She has the same pot-belly when
she finishes rearing her young as when she began. She has not lost
weight: far from it; on the contrary, she has put on flesh: she
has gained the wherewithal to beget a new family next summer, one
as numerous as to-day's.
Once more, with what do the little ones keep up their strength? We
The Life of the Spider |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Lady Susan by Jane Austen: his present plan; things have gone too far. They must have quarrelled, and
about Frederica, too. Her calmness astonishes me. What delight will be
yours in seeing him again; in seeing him still worthy your esteem, still
capable of forming your happiness! When I next write I shall be able to
tell you that Sir James is gone, Lady Susan vanquished, and Frederica at
peace. We have much to do, but it shall be done. I am all impatience to
hear how this astonishing change was effected. I finish as I began, with
the warmest congratulations.
Yours ever, &c.,
CATH. VERNON.
XXIV
Lady Susan |
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 Statesman by Plato: words?
YOUNG SOCRATES: To what do you refer?
STRANGER: If I am not mistaken, we said that royal power was a science?
YOUNG SOCRATES: Yes.
STRANGER: And a science of a peculiar kind, which was selected out of the
rest as having a character which is at once judicial and authoritative?
YOUNG SOCRATES: Yes.
STRANGER: And there was one kind of authority over lifeless things and
another other living animals; and so we proceeded in the division step by
step up to this point, not losing the idea of science, but unable as yet to
determine the nature of the particular science?
Statesman |
