| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Shadow Line by Joseph Conrad: culty in keeping firm, I went on: "I suppose, men,
you have understood what I said, and you know
what it means."
A voice or two were heard: "Yes, sir. . . . We
understand."
They had kept silent simply because they
thought that they were not called to say anything;
and when I told them that I intended to run into
Singapore and that the best chance for the ship
and the men was in the efforts all of us, sick and
well, must make to get her along out of this, I re-
The Shadow Line |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare: And unsuspected court her by herself.
GRUMIO.
Here's no knavery! See, to beguile the old folks, how the
young folks lay their heads together!
[Enter GREMIO, and LUCENTIO disguised, with books under his arm.]
Master, master, look about you: who goes there, ha?
HORTENSIO.
Peace, Grumio! 'tis the rival of my love. Petruchio,
stand by awhile.
GRUMIO.
A proper stripling, and an amorous!
The Taming of the Shrew |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from The Black Tulip by Alexandre Dumas: himself quite alone, quite isolated, and out of everybody's
sight, he pounced upon the border, plunged both his hands
into the soft soil, took a handful of the mould, which he
gently frittered between his fingers to see whether the bulb
was in it, and repeated the same thing twice or three times,
until at last he perceived that he was outwitted. Then,
keeping down the agitation which was raging in his breast,
he took up the rake, smoothed the ground, so as to leave it
on his retiring in the same state as he had found it, and,
quite abashed and rueful, walked back to the door, affecting
the unconcerned air of an ordinary visitor of the garden."
The Black Tulip |
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 Lucile by Owen Meredith: With the birth of the palm-tree! Let ages expand
The glorious creature! The ages lie shut
(Safe, see!) in the seed, at time's signal to put
Forth their beauty and power, leaf by leaf, layer on layer,
Till the palm strikes the sun, and stands broad in blue air.
So the palm in the palm-seed! so, slowly--so, wrought
Year by year unperceived, hope on hope, thought by thought,
Trace the growth of the man from its germ in the boy.
Ah, but Nature, that nurtures, may also destroy!
Charm the wind and the sun, lest some chance intervene!
While the leaf's in the bud, while the stem's in the green,
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