| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from A Footnote to History by Robert Louis Stevenson: the other consequences were of a darker colour and brought the
whites immediately face to face in a spirit of ill-favoured
animosity. Knappe was mourning the defeat and death of his
country-folk, he was standing aghast over the ruin of his own
career, when Mullan boarded him. The successor of Leary served
himself, in that bitter moment, heir to Leary's part. And in
Mullan, Knappe saw more even than the successor of Leary, - he saw
in him the representative of Klein. Klein had hailed the praam
from the rifle-pits; he had there uttered ill-chosen words,
unhappily prophetic; it is even likely that he was present at the
time of the first fire. To accuse him of the design and conduct of
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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 Altar of the Dead by Henry James: It's true that if there weren't other dates than this there were
other memories; and by the time George Stransom was fifty-five such
memories had greatly multiplied. There were other ghosts in his
life than the ghost of Mary Antrim. He had perhaps not had more
losses than most men, but he had counted his losses more; he hadn't
seen death more closely, but had in a manner felt it more deeply.
He had formed little by little the habit of numbering his Dead: it
had come to him early in life that there was something one had to
do for them. They were there in their simplified intensified
essence, their conscious absence and expressive patience, as
personally there as if they had only been stricken dumb. When 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 Hiero by Xenophon: and in respect of these wars there is no hardship which any member of
the states at war[11] can suffer but the tyrant will feel it also.
That is to say, both must alike be under arms, keep guard, run risks;
and whatever the pains of defeat may be, they are equally sustained by
both. Up to this point there is no distinction. The "bitters" are
equal. But when we come to estimate the "sweets" derivable from
warfare between states,[12] the parallel ceases. The tyrant, if he
shared the pains before, no longer shares the pleasures now. What
happens when a state has gained the mastery in battle over her
antagonist? It would be hard (I take it) to describe the joy of that
occurrence: joy in the rout, joy in the pursuit, joy in the slaughter
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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 Professor by Charlotte Bronte: off his yoke, and go out with my portmanteau under my arm, if a
beggar, at least a freeman; and in the evening, when I came back
from the pensionnat de demoiselles, a certain pleasant voice in
my ear; a certain face, so intelligent, yet so docile, so
reflective, yet so soft, in my eyes; a certain cast of character,
at once proud and pliant, sensitive and sagacious, serious and
ardent, in my head; a certain tone of feeling, fervid and modest,
refined and practical, pure and powerful, delighting and
troubling my memory--visions of new ties I longed to contract, of
new duties I longed to undertake, had taken the rover and the
rebel out of me, and had shown endurance of my hated lot in the
The Professor |
