| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Alexandria and her Schools by Charles Kingsley: their forefather Adam--like, indeed, the Old Adam--the selfish,
cowardly, brute nature in every man and in every age--were shifting the
blame of sin from their own consciences to human relationships and
duties, and therein, to the God who had appointed them; and saying, as
of old, 'The woman whom Thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the
tree, and I did eat.'"
Much as Christianity did, even in Egypt, for woman, by asserting her
moral and spiritual equality with the man, there seems to have been no
suspicion that she was the true complement of the man, not merely by
softening him, but by strengthening him; that true manhood can be no
more developed without the influence of the woman, than true womanhood
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Sesame and Lilies by John Ruskin: marks the perfectness of that purpose, and the continued sense of
failure arises from the continued opening of the eyes more clearly
to all the sacredest laws of truth.
This is one lesson. The second is a very plain, and greatly
precious one: namely--that whenever the arts and labours of life
are fulfilled in this spirit of striving against misrule, and doing
whatever we have to do, honourably and perfectly, they invariably
bring happiness, as much as seems possible to the nature of man. In
all other paths by which that happiness is pursued there is
disappointment, or destruction: for ambition and for passion there
is no rest--no fruition; the fairest pleasures of youth perish in a
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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 Sons and Lovers by D. H. Lawrence: she was hurt.
He returned and finished the exercise.
"You've done well this week," he said.
She saw he was flattered by her diary. It did not repay
her entirely.
"You really do blossom out sometimes," he said. "You ought
to write poetry."
She lifted her head with joy, then she shook it mistrustfully.
"I don't trust myself," she said.
"You should try!"
Again she shook her head.
Sons and Lovers |
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 Somebody's Little Girl by Martha Young: those until they came to a great row of big round red apples on top
of all.
Rut great grown people said: ``No, no, Bessie Bell, there are no
apple trees in all the world like that.''
And one time Bessie Bell was at a pretty house and somebody sat her
on a little low chair and said: `` Keep still, Bessie Bell.''
She kept still so long that at last she began to be afraid to move
at all, and she got afraid even to crook up her little finger for
fear it would pop off loud,--she had kept still so long that all her
round little fingers and her round little legs felt so stiff.
Then one, great grown person said: ``She seems a very quiet child.''
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