| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Kwaidan by Lafcadio Hearn: friend to help him. The priest of the Amidaji was fond of poetry and music;
and he often invited Hoichi to the temple, to play and recite. Afterwards,
being much impressed by the wonderful skill of the lad, the priest proposed
that Hoichi should make the temple his home; and this offer was gratefully
accepted. Hoichi was given a room in the temple-building; and, in return
for food and lodging, he was required only to gratify the priest with a
musical performance on certain evenings, when otherwise disengaged.
One summer night the priest was called away, to perform a Buddhist service
at the house of a dead parishioner; and he went there with his acolyte,
leaving Hoichi alone in the temple. It was a hot night; and the blind man
sought to cool himself on the verandah before his sleeping-room. The
Kwaidan |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Reason Discourse by Rene Descartes: there are many animals which manifest more industry than we in certain of
their actions, the same animals are yet observed to show none at all in
many others: so that the circumstance that they do better than we does not
prove that they are endowed with mind, for it would thence follow that
they possessed greater reason than any of us, and could surpass us in all
things; on the contrary, it rather proves that they are destitute of
reason, and that it is nature which acts in them according to the
disposition of their organs: thus it is seen, that a clock composed only
of wheels and weights can number the hours and measure time more exactly
than we with all our skin.
I had after this described the reasonable soul, and shown that it could by
Reason Discourse |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from In a German Pension by Katherine Mansfield: He came in slowly, hesitated, took up a toothpick from a dish on the top of
the piano, and went out again.
When the door was closed we raised a triumphant cry! It was the first time
he had ever been known to enter the salon. Who could tell what the Future
held?
Days lengthened into weeks. Still we were together, and still the solitary
little figure, head bowed as though under the weight of the spectacles,
haunted me. He entered with the black bag, he retired with the black
bag--and that was all.
At last the manager of the pension told us the Baron was leaving the next
day.
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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 Tales of the Klondyke by Jack London: break trail for you, lift a paddle with you. I can do it.
Believe me, I am strong."
Nor did he doubt it, looking upon her and holding her off from
him; but his face had grown stern and gray, and the warmth had
died out of his eyes.
"I will pay off Pierre and the boatmen, and let them go. And I
will stay with you, priest or no priest, minister or no minister;
go with you, now, anywhere! Dave! Dave! Listen to me! You say
I did you wrong in the past--and I did--let me make up for it, let
me atone. If I did not rightly measure love before, let me show
that I can now."
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