| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Beast in the Jungle by Henry James: picture of a serene and exquisite but impenetrable sphinx, whose
head, or indeed all whose person, might have been powdered with
silver. She was a sphinx, yet with her white petals and green
fronds she might have been a lily too--only an artificial lily,
wonderfully imitated and constantly kept, without dust or stain,
though not exempt from a slight droop and a complexity of faint
creases, under some clear glass bell. The perfection of household
care, of high polish and finish, always reigned in her rooms, but
they now looked most as if everything had been wound up, tucked in,
put away, so that she might sit with folded hands and with nothing
more to do. She was "out of it," to Marcher's vision; her work was
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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 Ancient Regime by Charles Kingsley: superstition.
But one hope there is, and more than a hope--one certainty, that
however satisfied enlightened public opinion may become with the
results of science, and the progress of the human race, there will
be always a more enlightened private opinion or opinions, which will
not be satisfied therewith at all; a few men of genius, a few
children of light, it may be a few persecuted, and a few martyrs for
new truths, who will wish the world not to rest and be thankful, but
to be discontented with itself, ashamed of itself, striving and
toiling upward, without present hope of gain, till it has reached
that unknown goal which Bacon saw afar off, and like all other
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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 Talisman by Walter Scott: reproaches less, although founded in reason, than those of the
Queen, though unjust and fantastical. Having requested to speak
with her apart, he was ushered into her apartment, adjoining that
of the Queen, whose two female Coptish slaves remained on their
knees in the most remote corner during the interview. A thin
black veil extended its ample folds over the tall and graceful
form of the high-born maiden, and she wore not upon her person
any female ornament of what kind soever. She arose and made a low
reverence when Richard entered, resumed her seat at his command,
and, when he sat down beside her, waited, without uttering a
syllable, until he should communicate his pleasure.
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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 The Rescue by Joseph Conrad: permitted Belarab to indulge in all his melancholy hesitations.
But those two young people had also some personal prestige. They
were Lingard's heart's friends. They were like his children. But
beside that, their high birth, their warlike story, their
wanderings, adventures, and prospects had given them a glamour of
their own.
V
The very day that Travers and d'Alcacer had come on board the
Emma Hassim and Immada had departed on their mission; for
Lingard, of course, could not think of leaving the white people
alone with Jorgenson. Jorgenson was all right, but his
The Rescue |
