| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Dreams by Olive Schreiner: stretched the brown earth. And I sat down under the tree, because the heat
beat fiercely, and all along the horizon the air throbbed. And after a
while a heavy drowsiness came over me, and I laid my head down against my
saddle, and I fell asleep there. And, in my sleep, I had a curious dream.
I thought I stood on the border of a great desert, and the sand blew about
everywhere. And I thought I saw two great figures like beasts of burden of
the desert, and one lay upon the sand with its neck stretched out, and one
stood by it. And I looked curiously at the one that lay upon the ground,
for it had a great burden on its back, and the sand was thick about it, so
that it seemed to have piled over it for centuries.
And I looked very curiously at it. And there stood one beside me watching.
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from St. Ives by Robert Louis Stevenson: would say, there is another French word.' With his wig over one
eye, he looked incredibly rueful and put out. 'Cheer up, Dudgeon;
the ordeal is over, you shall be embraced no more. But do, first
of all, for God's-sake, put away your pistol; you handle it as if
you were a cockatrice; some time or other, depend upon it, it will
certainly go off. Here is your hat. No, let me put it on square,
and the wig before it. Never suffer any stress of circumstances to
come between you and the duty you owe to yourself. If you have
nobody else to dress for, dress for God!
'Put your wig straight
On your bald pate,
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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 Father Sergius by Leo Tolstoy: doing? I must put an end to myself.'
And again he felt afraid, and again, to escape from that thought,
he went on thinking about Pashenka.
So he lay for a long time, thinking now of his unavoidable end
and now of Pashenka. She presented herself to him as a means of
salvation. At last he fell asleep, and in his sleep he saw an
angel who came to him and said: 'Go to Pashenka and learn from
her what you have to do, what your sin is, and wherein lies your
salvation.'
He awoke, and having decided that this was a vision sent by God,
he felt glad, and resolved to do what had been told him in the
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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 Phoenix and the Turtle by William Shakespeare: Phoenix and the turtle fled
In a mutual flame from hence.
So they lov'd, as love in twain
Had the essence but in one;
Two distincts, division none:
Number there in love was slain.
Hearts remote, yet not asunder;
Distance, and no space was seen
'Twixt the turtle and his queen;
But in them it were a wonder.
So between them love did shine,
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