| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Land of Footprints by Stewart Edward White: merely examples of the great variability in the habits of felis
leo.
Once the kill is made, the lion disembowels the beast very neatly
indeed, and drags the entrails a few feet out of the way. He then
eats what he wants, and, curiously enough, seems often to be very
fond of the skin. In fact, lacking other evidence, it is
occasionally possible to identify a kill as being that of a lion
by noticing whether any considerable portion of the hide has been
devoured. After eating he drinks. Then he is likely to do one of
two things: either he returns to cover near the carcass and lies
down, or he wanders slowly and with satisfaction toward his happy
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Rivers to the Sea by Sara Teasdale: A PRAYER
UNTIL I lose my soul and lie
Blind to the beauty of the earth,
Deaf tho' a lyric wind goes by,
Dumb in a storm of mirth;
Until my heart is quenched at length
And I have left the land of men,
Oh let me love with all my strength
Careless if I am loved again.
II
INDIAN SUMMER
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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 Scarecrow of Oz by L. Frank Baum: taking a last view of the world -- as I then thought -- I
ate the berry in a twinkling. Then, to my surprise, I
began to grow big again, until I became of my former
stature, and so I have since remained. Needless to say, I
have never eaten again of the lavender fruit, nor do any
of the beasts or birds that live upon this island eat
it."
They had all three listened eagerly to this amazing
tale, and when it was finished the Ork exclaimed:
"Do you think, then, that the deep purple berry is the
antidote for the lavender one?"
The Scarecrow of Oz |
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 Unseen World and Other Essays by John Fiske: pathetic opening chorus, "The Son of Man was delivered into the
hands of sinful men," the joyous allegro, "And on the third day
he rose again," the choral, "Jesus, my Redeemer, lives," and the
quartet, "Feed the flock of God," commenting upon the command of
Jesus, "Feed my lambs." This quartet has all the heavenly
sweetness of Handel's "He shall feed his flock," which it
suggests by similarity of subject, though not by similarity of
treatment; but in a certain quality of inwardness, or religious
meditativeness, it reminds one more of Mr. Paine's favourite
master, Bach. The choral, like the one in the first part and the
one which follows the scene of Pentecost, is taken from the
The Unseen World and Other Essays |
