| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Rape of Lucrece by William Shakespeare: Besides, of weariness he did complain him,
And talk'd of virtue:--O unlook'd-for evil,
When virtue is profan'd in such a devil!
'Why should the worm intrude the maiden bud?
Or hateful cuckoos hatch in sparrows' nests?
Or toads infect fair founts with venom mud?
Or tyrant folly lurk in gentle breasts?
Or kings be breakers of their own behests?
But no perfection is so absolute,
That some impurity doth not pollute.
'The aged man that coffers up his gold
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Koran: signs of his Lord; and the torment of the hereafter is keener and more
lasting!
Does it not occur to them how many generations we have destroyed
before them?- they walk in their very dwelling-places; verily, in that
are signs to those endued with intelligence.
And had it not been for thy Lord's word already passed (the
punishment) would have been inevitable and (at) an appointed time.
Bear patiently then what they say, and celebrate the praises of
thy Lord before the rising of the sun, and before its setting, and
at times in the night celebrate them; and at the ends of the day;
haply thou mayest please (Him).
The Koran |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from The Voyage Out by Virginia Woolf: and asks after every one affectionately. The days pass very quickly,
and term will soon be here. Political prospects _not_ good,
I think privately, but do not like to damp Ellen's enthusiasm.
Lloyd George has taken the Bill up, but so have many before now,
and we are where we are; but trust to find myself mistaken.
Anyhow, we have our work cut out for us. . . . Surely Meredith
lacks the _human_ note one likes in W. W.?" she concluded, and went
on to discuss some questions of English literature which Miss Allan
had raised in her last letter.
At a little distance from Miss Allan, on a seat shaded and made
semi-private by a thick clump of palm trees, Arthur and Susan
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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 Brother of Daphne by Dornford Yates: "Talking of cats," I said stiffly, "and speaking as counsel of
five years' standing- "
I stopped, for she was on her feet now, facing me, and standing
very close, with her hands behind her and a tilted chin, looking
into my eyes.
"Talking of what, did you say?"
For a second I hesitated. Then:
"Gnats," I said.
She turned and resumed her place on the fallen tree. "Now you're
going on with your rehearsal," she announced. "I'll hear you."
"Will you read the cues?"
The Brother of Daphne |
