| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf: creeping in at keyholes and crevices, stole round window blinds, came
into bedrooms, swallowed up here a jug and basin, there a bowl of red
and yellow dahlias, there the sharp edges and firm bulk of a chest of
drawers. Not only was furniture confounded; there was scarcely
anything left of body or mind by which one could say, "This is he" or
"This is she." Sometimes a hand was raised as if to clutch something or
ward off something, or somebody groaned, or somebody laughed aloud as
if sharing a joke with nothingness.
Nothing stirred in the drawing-room or in the dining-room or on the
staircase. Only through the rusty hinges and swollen sea-moistened
woodwork certain airs, detached from the body of the wind (the house
To the Lighthouse |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Dynamiter by Robert Louis Stevenson and Fanny Van De Grift Stevenson: come empty-handed.
'I have taken the liberty,' said he, 'of bringing you a
little book. I thought of you, when I observed it on the
stall, because I saw it was in Spanish. The man assured me
it was by one of the best authors, and quite proper.' As he
spoke, he placed the little volume in her hand. Her eyes
fell as she turned the pages, and a flush rose and died again
upon her cheeks, as deep as it was fleeting. 'You are
angry,' he cried in agony. 'I have presumed.'
'No, Senor, it is not that,' returned the lady. 'I - ' and a
flood of colour once more mounted to her brow - 'I am
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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 The Mansion by Henry van Dyke: from it in
any definite way. They say the missionaries have done a good
deal
to open the way for trade; perhaps--but they have also gotten us
into
commercial and political difficulties. Yet I give to them--a
little--it is
a matter of conscience with me to identify myself with all the
enterprises
of the Church; it is the mainstay of social order and a
prosperous civilization. But the best forms of benevolence are
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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 Master and Man by Leo Tolstoy: 'Unharnessing. What else is there to do? I have no strength
left,' said Nikita as though excusing himself.
'Can't we drive somewhere?'
'No, we can't. We shall only kill the horse. Why, the poor
beast is not himself now,' said Nikita, pointing to the horse,
which was standing submissively waiting for what might come,
with his steep wet sides heaving heavily. 'We shall have to
stay the night here,' he said, as if preparing to spend the
night at an inn, and he proceeded to unfasten the
collar-straps. The buckles came undone.
'But shan't we be frozen?' remarked Vasili Andreevich.
Master and Man |
