| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Allan Quatermain by H. Rider Haggard: have another night of it in the canoes. Fortunately, however,
we espied a little rocky islet, not more than fifteen miles of
so square, situated nearly in the middle of the river. For this
we paddled, and, making fast the canoes, landed and made ourselves
as comfortable as circumstances would permit, which was very
uncomfortable indeed. As for the weather, it continued to be
simply vile, the rain coming down in sheets till we were chilled
to the marrow, and utterly preventing us from lighting a fire.
There was, however, one consoling circumstance about this rain;
our Askari declared that nothing would induce the Masai to make
an attack in it, as they intensely disliked moving about in the
Allan Quatermain |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Shadow Line by Joseph Conrad: helmet on its head. Their disgust was extreme.
They had expected surgical cases. Each one had
brought his carving tools with him. But they soon
got over their little disappointment. In less than
five minutes one of the steam launches was rushing
shoreward to order a big boat and some hospital
people for the removal of the crew. The big
steam pinnace went off to her ship to bring over a
few bluejackets to furl my sails for me.
One of the surgeons had remained on board. He
came out of the forecastle looking impenetrable,
The Shadow Line |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from The Symposium by Xenophon: there are not a few, I perceive, so ravenous of wealth that they will
outdo the veriest vagrants in atrocity. Want[57] prompts a thousand
crimes, you must admit. Why do men steal? why break burglariously into
houses? why hale men and women captive and make slaves of them? Is it
not from want? Nay, there are monarchs who at one fell swoop destroy
whole houses, make wholesale massacre, and oftentimes reduce entire
states to slavery, and all for the sake of wealth. These I must needs
pity for the cruel malady which plagues them. Their condition, to my
mind, resembles that poor creature's who, in spite of all he has[58]
and all he eats, can never stay the wolf that gnaws his vitals.
[55] Cf. "Cyrop." VIII. ii. 21; Hor. "Epist." i. 2. 26, "semper avarus
The Symposium |
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 The Message by Honore de Balzac: be difficult for you to imagine that my traveling companion was
more than worthy of a countess. Indeed, many a girl might have
wished for such a husband, for he was a Vicomte with an income of
twelve or fifteen thousand livres, "to say nothing of
expectations."
About a league out of Pouilly the coach was overturned. My
luckless comrade, thinking to save himself, jumped to the edge of
a newly-ploughed field, instead of following the fortunes of the
vehicle and clinging tightly to the roof, as I did. He either
miscalculated in some way, or he slipped; how it happened, I do
not know, but the coach fell over upon him, and he was crushed
|
