| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Othello by William Shakespeare: etext possible. My email address for right now are haradda@aol.com
and davidr@inconnect.com. I hope that you enjoy this.
David Reed#STARTMARK#
The Tragedie of Othello, the Moore of Venice
Actus Primus. Scoena Prima.
Enter Rodorigo, and Iago.
Rodorigo. Neuer tell me, I take it much vnkindly
That thou (Iago) who hast had my purse,
As if y strings were thine, should'st know of this
Ia. But you'l not heare me. If euer I did dream
Of such a matter, abhorre me
Othello |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Art of Writing by Robert Louis Stevenson: repetition of the F and V, the whole matter turns, almost too
obtrusively, on S and R; first S coming to the front, and
then R. In the concluding phrase all these favourite
letters, and even the flat A, a timid preference for which is
just perceptible, are discarded at a blow and in a bundle;
and to make the break more obvious, every word ends with a
dental, and all but one with T, for which we have been
cautiously prepared since the beginning. The singular
dignity of the first clause, and this hammer-stroke of the
last, go far to make the charm of this exquisite sentence.
But it is fair to own that S and R are used a little
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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 Tarzan the Untamed by Edgar Rice Burroughs: muscles such as his had their limitations. His pursuit of the
murderers had not been characterized by excessive speed; but
rather more in keeping with his mental attitude, which was
marked by a dogged determination to require from the Ger-
mans more than an eye for an eye and more than a tooth for
a tooth, the element of time entering but slightly into his
calculations.
Inwardly as well as outwardly Tarzan had reverted to beast
and in the lives of beasts, time, as a measurable aspect of
duration, has no meaning. The beast is actively interested
only in NOW, and as it is always NOW and always shall be, there
Tarzan the Untamed |
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 Four Arthurian Romances by Chretien DeTroyes: skilful craftsman, who made it spent more than seven years in
carving it, without touching any other piece of work. I do not
know whether he sold it; but he ought to have obtained a good
price for it. Now that Enide was presented with this palfrey,
she was well compensated for the loss of her own. The palfrey,
thus richly apparelled, was given to her and she mounted it
gladly; then the gentlemen and squires quickly mounted too. For
their pleasure and sport Guivret caused to be taken with them
rich falcons, both young and moulted, many a tercel and
sparrow-hawk, and many a setter and greyhound.
(Vv. 5367-5446.) (36) They rode straight on from morn till eve
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