| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Just Folks by Edgar A. Guest: As any soldier fine.
You lifted up our little feet
And laughingly advanced;
And I stood there and gazed upon
Your first wee steps, entranced.
You gooed and gurgled as you came
Without a sign of fear;
As though you knew, your journey o'er,
I'd greet you with a cheer.
And, what is more, you seemed to know,
Although you are so small,
Just Folks |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Domestic Peace by Honore de Balzac: he hoped great things. But he was strangely surprised to see tears in
the strange lady's eyes, which seemed wholly absorbed in gazing on
Madame de Vaudremont.
"You are married, no doubt, madame?" he asked her at length, in
hesitating tones.
"Yes, monsieur," replied the lady.
"And your husband is here, of course?"
"Yes, monsieur."
"And why, madame, do you remain in this spot? Is it to attract
attention?"
The mournful lady smiled sadly.
|
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from The Soul of Man by Oscar Wilde: hundred men. Five hundred men are, in consequence, thrown out of
employment, and, having no work to do, become hungry and take to
thieving. The one man secures the produce of the machine and keeps
it, and has five hundred times as much as he should have, and
probably, which is of much more importance, a great deal more than
he really wants. Were that machine the property of all, every one
would benefit by it. It would be an immense advantage to the
community. All unintellectual labour, all monotonous, dull labour,
all labour that deals with dreadful things, and involves unpleasant
conditions, must be done by machinery. Machinery must work for us
in coal mines, and do all sanitary services, and be the stoker of
|
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 Rescue by Joseph Conrad: anybody had heard it before. O Rajah Laut, Jaffir and the white
man had been waiting, too, all night for some sign from you; a
shot fired or a signal-fire, lighted to strengthen their hearts.
There had been nothing. Rajah Hassim, whispering, ordered Jaffir
to take the first opportunity to leap overboard and take to you
his message of friendship and good-bye. Did the Rajah and Jaffir
know what was coming? Who can tell? But what else could they see
than calamity for all Wajo men, whatever Tuan Jorgenson had made
up his mind to do? Jaffir prepared to obey his lord, and yet with
so many enemies' boats in the water he did not think he would
ever reach the shore; and as to yourself he was not at all sure
The Rescue |
