| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Unseen World and Other Essays by John Fiske: there is none, and obscures the fact that both invisible ether
and visible matter form but one grand universe in which the sum
of energy remains constant, though the order of its distribution
endlessly varies.
Very different would be the logical position of a theory which
should assume the existence of an "Unseen World" entirely
spiritual in constitution, and in which material conditions like
those of the visible world should have neither place nor meaning.
Such a world would not consist of ethers or gases or ghosts, but
of purely psychical relations akin to such as constitute thoughts
and feelings when our minds are least solicited by
The Unseen World and Other Essays |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Almayer's Folly by Joseph Conrad: Dain bent low trying to convey in a last glance towards the girl
the bold expression of his overwhelming admiration. The next
minute he was shaking Almayer's hand with grave courtesy, his
face wearing a look of stolid unconcern as to any feminine
presence. His men filed off, and he followed them quickly,
closely attended by a thick-set, savage-looking Sumatrese he had
introduced before as the commander of his brig. Nina walked to
the balustrade of the verandah and saw the sheen of moonlight on
the steel spear-heads and heard the rhythmic jingle of brass
anklets as the men moved in single file towards the jetty. The
boat shoved off after a little while, looming large in the full
Almayer's Folly |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Massimilla Doni by Honore de Balzac: living and irresistible energy. It is a consummate work, supported by
an accompaniment of marvelous orchestration, as indeed is every
portion of this opera. The vigor of youth illumines the smallest
details."
The whole house applauded this noble movement, which was admirably
rendered by the singer, and thoroughly appreciated by the Venetians.
"In the /finale/," said the Duchess, "you hear a repetition of the
march, expressive of the joy of deliverance and of faith in God, who
allows His people to rush off gleefully to wander in the Desert! What
lungs but would be refreshed by the aspirations of a whole nation
freed from slavery.
|
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 Intentions by Oscar Wilde: impressions. It is for him that pictures are painted, books
written, and marble hewn into form.
ERNEST. I seem to have heard another theory of Criticism.
GILBERT. Yes: it has been said by one whose gracious memory we
all revere, and the music of whose pipe once lured Proserpina from
her Sicilian fields, and made those white feet stir, and not in
vain, the Cumnor cowslips, that the proper aim of Criticism is to
see the object as in itself it really is. But this is a very
serious error, and takes no cognisance of Criticism's most perfect
form, which is in its essence purely subjective, and seeks to
reveal its own secret and not the secret of another. For the
|
