| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Salammbo by Gustave Flaubert: not hesitate to leave the walls in order to try and rejoin him.
Spendius wanted to reconstruct the helepolis; Matho had traced an
imaginary line from his tent to Megara, and inwardly swore to follow
it, and none of their men stirred. But the rest, under the command of
Autaritus, went off, abandoning the western part of the rampart, and
so profound was the carelessness exhibited that no one even thought of
replacing them.
Narr' Havas spied them from afar in the mountains. During the night he
led all his men along the sea-shore on the outer side of the Lagoon,
and entered Carthage.
He presented himself as a saviour with six thousand men all carrying
Salammbo |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Boys' Life of Abraham Lincoln by Helen Nicolay: hoped to be President in his stead. For the other three members
of his Cabinet he had to look elsewhere. Gideon Welles, of
Connecticut, for Secretary of the Navy; Montgomery Blair, of
Maryland, for Postmaster-General; and Caleb B. Smith, of Indiana,
for Secretary of the Interior, were finally chosen. When people
complained, as they sometimes did, that by this arrangement the
cabinet consisted of four men who had been Democrats in the old
days, and only three who had been Whigs, Lincoln smiled his wise,
humorous smile and answered that he himself had been a Whig, and
would always be there to make matters even. It is not likely that
this exact list was in his mind on the night of the November
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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 Passionate Pilgrim by William Shakespeare: Thou being a goddess, I forswore not thee:
My vow was earthly, thou a heavenly love:
Thy grace being gain'd cures all disgrace in me.
My vow was breath, and breath a vapour is;
Then, thou fair sun, that on this earth doth shine,
Exhale this vapour vow; in thee it is:
If broken, then it is no fault of mine.
If by me broke, what fool is not so wise
To break an oath, to win a paradise?
IV.
Sweet Cytherea, sitting by a brook
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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 The Heritage of the Desert by Zane Grey: "Eschtah, he see' s the Flower of the Desert," replied August Naab.
"Mescal has left him. Her trail leads to the bitter waters under the
cliff, and then is as a bird's."
"Eschtah has waited, yet Mescal has not come to him."
"She has not been here?"
"Mescal's shadow has not gladdened the Navajo's door."
"She has climbed the crags or wandered into the canyons. The white
father loves her; he must find her."
"Eschtah's braves and mustangs are for his friend's use. The Navajo will
find her if she is not as the grain of drifting sand. But is the White
Prophet wise in his years? Let the Flower of the Desert take root in the
The Heritage of the Desert |
