| 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: any one of the seven deadly sins, or even of a small venial sin, is
unimaginable. Equally unimaginable, of course, a romantic ant, an
ideological ant, a poetical ant, or an ant inclined to metaphysical
speculations. No human mind could attain to the absolute matter-of-fact
quality of the ant-mind;-- no human being, as now constituted, could
cultivate a mental habit so impeccably practical as that of the ant. But
this superlatively practical mind is incapable of moral error. It would be
difficult, perhaps, to prove that the ant has no religious ideas. But it is
certain that such ideas could not be of any use to it. The being incapable
of moral weakness is beyond the need of "spiritual guidance."
Only in a vague way can we conceive the character of ant-society, and the
Kwaidan |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Sarrasine by Honore de Balzac: madness. I esteem you, but as for love, do not ask me for that; that
sentiment is suffocated in my heart. I have no heart!' she cried,
weeping bitterly. 'The stage on which you saw me, the applause, the
music, the renown to which I am condemned--those are my life; I have
no other. A few hours hence you will no longer look upon me with the
same eyes, the woman you love will be dead.'
"The sculptor did not reply. He was seized with a dull rage which
contracted his heart. He could do nothing but gaze at that
extraordinary woman, with inflamed, burning eyes. That feeble voice,
La Zambinella's attitude, manners, and gestures, instinct with
dejection, melancholy, and discouragement, reawakened in his soul all
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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 Shadow out of Time by H. P. Lovecraft: but well-established horticultural tradition. In the larger gardens
on the ground there seemed to be some attempt to preserve the
irregularities of Nature, but on the roofs there was more selectiveness,
and more evidences of the topiary art.
The sides were almost
always moist and cloudy, and sometimes I would seem to witness
tremendous rains. Once in a while, though, there would be glimpses
of the sun - which looked abnormally large - and of the moon,
whose markings held a touch of difference from the normal that
I could never quite fathom. When - very rarely - the night sky
was clear to any extent, I beheld constellations which were nearly
Shadow out of Time |
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 Madam How and Lady Why by Charles Kingsley: forth:
"While as yet He had not made the earth, nor the fields, nor the
highest part of the dust of the world.
"When He prepared the heavens, I was there: when He set a compass
upon the face of the depth:
"When He established the clouds above: when He strengthened the
fountains of the deep:
"When He gave to the sea His decree, that the waters should not
pass His commandment: when He appointed the foundations of the
earth:
"Then I was by Him, as one brought up with Him: and I was daily
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