| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Soul of the Far East by Percival Lowell: case of the dog or horse. If, however, it be the female with which
man has most to do, she is allowed to bestow her name upon her male
partner. Examples of the latter description occur in the use of
"cows" for "cattle," and "hens" for "fowls." A Japanese can say only
"fowl," defined, if absolutely necessary, as "he-fowl" or "she-fowl."
Now such a slighting of one of the most potent springs of human
action, sex, with all that the idea involves, is not due to a
pronounced misogynism on the part of these people, but to a much
more effective neglect, a great underlying impersonality.
Indifference to woman is but included in a much more general
indifference to mankind. The fact becomes all the more evident when
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum: and the first thing they came to was a china milkmaid milking a
china cow. As they drew near, the cow suddenly gave a kick and
kicked over the stool, the pail, and even the milkmaid herself,
and all fell on the china ground with a great clatter.
Dorothy was shocked to see that the cow had broken her leg
off, and that the pail was lying in several small pieces, while
the poor milkmaid had a nick in her left elbow.
"There!" cried the milkmaid angrily. "See what you have done!
My cow has broken her leg, and I must take her to the mender's
shop and have it glued on again. What do you mean by coming here
and frightening my cow?"
The Wizard of Oz |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from The Wheels of Chance by H. G. Wells: of the men and girls in the drapers' shops, busy as busy, serving
away. The High Street runs down at an angle of seventy degrees to
the horizon (so it seemed to Mr. Hoopdriver, whose feeling for
gradients was unnaturally exalted), and it brought his heart into
his mouth to see a cyclist ride down it, like a fly crawling down
a window pane. The man hadn't even a brake. He visited the castle
early in the evening and paid his twopence to ascend the Keep.
At the top, from the cage, he looked down over the clustering red
roofs of the town and the tower of the church, and then going to
the southern side sat down and lit a Red Herring cigarette, and
stared away south over the old bramble-bearing, fern-beset ruin,
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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 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne: "Yes, Captain Nemo," I replied; "and the Nautilus is wonderfully
fitted for such a study. Ah! it is an intelligent boat!"
"Yes, sir, intelligent and invulnerable. It fears neither
the terrible tempests of the Red Sea, nor its currents,
nor its sandbanks."
"Certainly," said I, "this sea is quoted as one of the worst,
and in the time of the ancients, if I am not mistaken,
its reputation was detestable."
"Detestable, M. Aronnax. The Greek and Latin historians
do not speak favourably of it, and Strabo says it is very
dangerous during the Etesian winds and in the rainy season.
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea |
