| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from A Sentimental Journey by Laurence Sterne: sentinel, and pointing at the same time with his finger at the
distress, - the sentinel made his way to it. - There was no
occasion to tell the grievance, - the thing told himself; so
thrusting back the German instantly with his musket, - he took the
poor dwarf by the hand, and placed him before him. - This is noble!
said I, clapping my hands together. - And yet you would not permit
this, said the old officer, in England.
- In England, dear Sir, said I, WE SIT ALL AT OUR EASE.
The old French officer would have set me at unity with myself, in
case I had been at variance, - by saying it was a BON MOT; - and,
as a BON MOT is always worth something at Paris, he offered me a
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from A House of Pomegranates by Oscar Wilde: And suddenly a wild tumult came from the street outside, and in
entered the nobles with drawn swords and nodding plumes, and
shields of polished steel. 'Where is this dreamer of dreams?' they
cried. 'Where is this King who is apparelled like a beggar - this
boy who brings shame upon our state? Surely we will slay him, for
he is unworthy to rule over us.'
And the young King bowed his head again, and prayed, and when he
had finished his prayer he rose up, and turning round he looked at
them sadly.
And lo! through the painted windows came the sunlight streaming
upon him, and the sun-beams wove round him a tissued robe that was
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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 The Letters of Robert Louis Stevenson by Robert Louis Stevenson: commonplace motives. Eight years ago, if I could have slung ink as
I can now, I should have thought myself well on the road after
Shakespeare; and now - I find I have only got a pair of walking-
shoes and not yet begun to travel. And art is still away there on
the mountain summit. But I need not continue; for, of course, this
is your story just as much as it is mine; and, strange to think, it
was Shakespeare's too, and Beethoven's, and Phidias's. It is a
blessed thing that, in this forest of art, we can pursue our wood-
lice and sparrows, AND NOT CATCH THEM, with almost the same fervour
of exhilaration as that with which Sophocles hunted and brought
down the Mastodon.
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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 On the Origin of Species by Charles Darwin: characters be ever so slight, has had its wild prototype. At this rate
there must have existed at least a score of species of wild cattle, as many
sheep, and several goats in Europe alone, and several even within Great
Britain. One author believes that there formerly existed in Great Britain
eleven wild species of sheep peculiar to it! When we bear in mind that
Britain has now hardly one peculiar mammal, and France but few distinct
from those of Germany and conversely, and so with Hungary, Spain, &c., but
that each of these kingdoms possesses several peculiar breeds of cattle,
sheep, &c., we must admit that many domestic breeds have originated in
Europe; for whence could they have been derived, as these several countries
do not possess a number of peculiar species as distinct parent-stocks? So
On the Origin of Species |
