| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from My Bondage and My Freedom by Frederick Douglass: things; and, in so becoming, I only gave proof of the same human
nature which every reader of this chapter in my life--
slaveholder, or nonslaveholder--is conscious of possessing.
To make a contented slave, you must make a thoughtless one. It
is necessary to darken his moral and mental vision, and, as far
as possible, to annihilate his power of reason. He must be able
to detect no inconsistencies in slavery. The man that takes his
earnings, must be able to convince him that he has a perfect
right to do so. It must not depend upon mere force; the slave
must know no Higher Law than his master's will. The whole
relationship must not only demonstrate, to his mind, its
My Bondage and My Freedom |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Warlord of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs: and when I entered, the woman screamed and the man sprang upon
me and would have killed me.
"What know you of this man? He is a stranger to you, and I
dare say that you will find him an enemy and a spy. Let him be put
on trial, Salensus Oll, rather than your friend and guest, Thurid,
Dator of the First Born."
Salensus Oll looked puzzled. He turned again and looked upon
Dejah Thoris, and then Thurid stepped quite close to him and
whispered something in his ear--what, I know not.
The Warlord of Mars |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Expression of Emotion in Man and Animals by Charles Darwin: contracted with the greatest force, without any preparation,
they are liable to be ruptured, as when a man slips unexpectedly;
but that this rarely occurs when an action, however violent,
is deliberately performed.
[1] `The Anatomy of Expression,' 1844, p. 190.
With respect to the upright position of the tail, it seems to depend
(but whether this is really the case I know not) on the elevator muscles
being more powerful than the depressors, so that when all the muscles of
the hinder part of the body are in a state of tension, the tail is raised.
A dog in cheerful spirits, and trotting before his master with high,
elastic steps, generally carries his tail aloft, though it is not held
Expression of Emotion in Man and Animals |
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 Beauty and The Beast by Bayard Taylor: of his troubles, and to find his growing self-reliance strengthened
by her quick, intelligent sympathy. The Pardons were better
friends than ever, and the fact, which at first created great
astonishment in the neighborhood, that Jacob Flint had really gone
upon a journey and brought home a handsome wife, began to change
the attitude of the people towards him. The old place was no
longer so lonely; the nearest neighbors began to drop in and insist
on return visits. Now that Jacob kept his head up, and they got a
fair view of his face, they discovered that he was not
lacking, after all, in sense or social qualities.
In October, the Whitney place, which had been leased for several
|
