| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Life of the Spider by J. Henri Fabre: the case with scientific nomenclature, which sounds more like
sneezing than articulate speech. Since it is the rule to dignify
plants and animals with a Latin label, let us at least respect the
euphony of the classics and refrain from harsh splutters which spit
out a name instead of pronouncing it.
What will posterity do in face of the rising tide of a barbarous
vocabulary which, under the pretence of progress, stifles real
knowledge? It will relegate the whole business to the quagmire of
oblivion. But what will never disappear is the popular name, which
sounds well, is picturesque and conveys some sort of information.
Such is the term Crab Spider, applied by the ancients to the group
The Life of the Spider |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Les Miserables by Victor Hugo: She simply loved and venerated him. When he spoke, she bowed;
when he acted, she yielded her adherence. Their only servant,
Madame Magloire, grumbled a little. It will be observed that
Monsieur the Bishop had reserved for himself only one thousand
livres, which, added to the pension of Mademoiselle Baptistine,
made fifteen hundred francs a year. On these fifteen hundred
francs these two old women and the old man subsisted.
And when a village curate came to D----, the Bishop still found means
to entertain him, thanks to the severe economy of Madame Magloire,
and to the intelligent administration of Mademoiselle Baptistine.
One day, after he had been in D---- about three months, the Bishop said:--
Les Miserables |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift: accused you as a traitor on that account, and therefore insisted
you should be put to death.
"The treasurer was of the same opinion: he showed to what
straits his majesty's revenue was reduced, by the charge of
maintaining you, which would soon grow insupportable; that the
secretary's expedient of putting out your eyes, was so far from
being a remedy against this evil, that it would probably increase
it, as is manifest from the common practice of blinding some kind
of fowls, after which they fed the faster, and grew sooner fat;
that his sacred majesty and the council, who are your judges,
were, in their own consciences, fully convinced of your guilt,
Gulliver's Travels |
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 Sons and Lovers by D. H. Lawrence: to pay for her season-ticket; but no, she comes to me about that,
and I have to find the money."
"It's a poor lookout," said Mrs. Morel bitterly.
He was pale, and his rugged face, that used to be so perfectly
careless and laughing, was stamped with conflict and despair.
"But I can't give her up now; it's gone too far," he said.
"And, besides, for SOME things I couldn't do without her."
"My boy, remember you're taking your life in your hands,"
said Mrs. Morel. "NOTHING is as bad as a marriage that's
a hopeless failure. Mine was bad enough, God knows, and ought
to teach you something; but it might have been worse by a long chalk."
Sons and Lovers |
