| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy: convenient tone possible for his present attitude to his wife. He
was a little colder to his wife. He simply seemed to be slightly
displeased with her for that first midnight conversation, which
she had repelled. In his attitude to her there was a shade of
vexation, but nothing more. "You would not be open with me," he
seemed to say, mentally addressing her; "so much the worse for
you. Now you may beg as you please, but I won't be open with you.
So much the worse for you!" he said mentally, like a man who,
after vainly attempting to extinguish a fire, should By in a rage
with his vain efforts and say, "Oh, very well then! you shall
burn for this!" This man, so subtle and astute in official life,
Anna Karenina |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Child of Storm by H. Rider Haggard: appear before the King accompanied by men armed with guns, when we who
are his sons must come with sticks only? If so, let him protect you!"
"That I will do if there is need!" exclaimed Umbelazi.
"Thank you, Prince," I said; "but if there is need I will protect myself
as I did yesterday," and, cocking my double-barrelled rifle, I looked
full at Cetewayo.
"When you leave here, then at least I will come even with you,
Macumazahn!" threatened Cetewayo, spitting through his teeth, as was his
way when mad with passion.
For he was beside himself, and wished to vent his temper on someone,
although in truth he and I were always good friends.
Child of Storm |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from The Art of War by Sun Tzu: Clearly, Dr. Giles' work established much of the groundwork
for the work of later translators who published their own
editions. Of the later editions of the ART OF WAR I have
examined; two feature Giles' edited translation and notes, the
other two present the same basic information from the ancient
Chinese commentators found in the Giles edition. Of these four,
Giles' 1910 edition is the most scholarly and presents the reader
an incredible amount of information concerning Sun Tzu's text,
much more than any other translation.
The Giles' edition of the ART OF WAR, as stated above, was a
scholarly work. Dr. Giles was a leading sinologue at the time
The Art of War |
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 Glinda of Oz by L. Frank Baum: So they wandered among the bushes and finally came to
a shallow pool of water, formed by a small bubbling
spring. Dorothy stooped to get a drink and discovered
in the water a green crab, about as big as her hand.
The crab had two big, sharp claws, and as soon as
Dorothy saw them she had an idea that those claws could
save them.
"Come out of the water," she called to the crab; "I
want to talk to you."
Rather lazily the crab rose to the surface and caught
hold of a bit of rock. With his head above the water he
Glinda of Oz |
