| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Camille by Alexandre Dumas: and I flung myself into Marguerite's arms.
"I wanted," she continued, "to arrange everything without telling
you, pay all my debts, and take a new flat. In October we should
have been back in Paris, and all would have come out; but since
Prudence has told you all, you will have to agree beforehand,
instead of agreeing afterward. Do you love me enough for that?"
It was impossible to resist such devotion. I kissed her hands
ardently, and said:
"I will do whatever you wish."
It was agreed that we should do as she had planned. Thereupon,
she went wild with delight; danced, sang, amused herself with
Camille |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Art of Writing by Robert Louis Stevenson: there is a marked subsidiary M, which again was announced in
line two. I stop from weariness, for more might yet be said.
My next example was recently quoted from Shakespeare as an
example of the poet's colour sense. Now, I do not think
literature has anything to do with colour, or poets anyway
the better of such a sense; and I instantly attacked this
passage, since 'purple' was the word that had so pleased the
writer of the article, to see if there might not be some
literary reason for its use. It will be seen that I
succeeded amply; and I am bound to say I think the passage
exceptional in Shakespeare - exceptional, indeed, in
|
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from The Koran: them.' They have no knowledge of that, they only conjecture.
Have we given them a book before it to which they might hold?
Nay; they say, 'We found our fathers (agreed) upon a religion,
and, verily, we are guided by their traces.'
Thus, too, did we never send before thee to a city any warner, but
the affluent ones thereof said, 'Verily, we found our fathers (agreed)
upon a religion, and, verily, we are led by their traces.'
Say, 'What! if I come to you with what is a better guide than what
ye found your fathers agreed upon?' and they will say, 'Verily, we
in what ye are sent with disbelieve!'
Then we took vengeance on them, and see how was the end of those who
The Koran |
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 Insidious Dr. Fu-Manchu by Sax Rohmer: A dog was howling dismally somewhere.
"Your defenses are not impregnable, after all, then?" he jerked.
"On our way up this evening Mr. Denby was telling us about the death
of his collie a few nights ago."
The clergyman's face clouded.
"That, certainly, was alarming," he confessed.
"I had been in London for a few days, and during my absence Vernon
came down, bringing the dog with him. On the night of his arrival
it ran, barking, into the shrubbery yonder, and did not come out.
He went to look for it with a lantern, and found it lying among
the bushes, quite dead. The poor creature had been dreadfully
The Insidious Dr. Fu-Manchu |
