| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Charmides by Plato: or administered under the guidance of wisdom, and everything else of which
wisdom was the lord, would have been well ordered; for truth guiding, and
error having been eliminated, in all their doings, men would have done
well, and would have been happy. Was not this, Critias, what we spoke of
as the great advantage of wisdom--to know what is known and what is unknown
to us?
Very true, he said.
And now you perceive, I said, that no such science is to be found anywhere.
I perceive, he said.
May we assume then, I said, that wisdom, viewed in this new light merely as
a knowledge of knowledge and ignorance, has this advantage:--that he who
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Modeste Mignon by Honore de Balzac: moreover, it rained heavily, and not a single young man was in the
streets. On another occasion she went to walk on the jetty to see the
English travellers land; but each Englishman had an Englishwoman,
nearly as handsome as Modeste herself, who saw no one at all
resembling a wandering Childe Harold. Tears overcame her, as she sat
down like Marius on the ruins of her imagination. But on the day when
she subpoenaed God for the third time she firmly believed that the
Elect of her dreams was within the church, hiding, perhaps out of
delicacy, behind one of the pillars, round all of which she dragged
Madame Latournelle on a tour of inspection. After this failure, she
deposed the Deity from omnipotence. Many were her conversations with
Modeste Mignon |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Old Indian Legends by Zitkala-Sa: Just before the run and leap Iktomi put in: "Let the winner
have the deer to eat!"
It was too late now to say no. Patkasa was more afraid of
being called a coward than of losing the deer. "Ho-wo," he
replied, still working his short arms. At length he started off on
the run. So quick and small were his steps that he seemed to be
kicking the ground only. Then the leap! But Patkasa tripped upon
a stick and fell hard against the side of the deer.
"He-he-he!" exclaimed Iktomi, pretending disappointment that
his friend had fallen.
Lifting him to his feet, he said: "Now it is my turn to try
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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 Tono Bungay by H. G. Wells: I am, at least, equally sure of that. And Mimizan, near where we
dropped, is fifty miles from Bordeaux, whose harbour lights I
must have seen.
I remember coming down at last with a curious indifference, and
actually rousing myself to steer. But the actual coming to earth
was exciting enough. I remember our prolonged dragging landfall,
and the difficulty I had to get clear, and how a gust of wind
caught Lord Roberts B as my uncle stumbled away from the ropes
and litter, and dropped me heavily, and threw me on to my knees.
Then came the realisation that the monster was almost consciously
disentangling itself for escape, and then the light leap of its
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