| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Blue Flower by Henry van Dyke: "No," answered Marcion; "something familiar."
"And what is that?"
"A singular likeness to a discontented young man that I
met some years ago in the Grove of Daphne."
"But why should that interest you? Surely it was to be
expected."
"A thing that we expect often surprises us when we see it.
Besides, my curiosity is piqued. I suspect you of keeping a
secret from me."
"You are jesting with me. There is nothing in my life
that you do not know. What is the secret?"
|
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Glinda of Oz by L. Frank Baum: purpose," replied Glinda. "Wherever in the lake the
enchanted fishes may be, they will answer to my call.
What I am trying to discover is how the boat came to be
on this shore, while the island on which it belongs is
under water yonder. Did Coo-ee-oh come here in the boat
to meet the Flatheads before the island was sunk, or
afterward?"
No one could answer that question, of course; but
while they pondered the matter three young men advanced
from the line of trees, and rather timidly bowed to the
strangers.
Glinda of Oz |
| 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: men who have realised themselves, and in whom all Humanity gains a
partial realisation. Upon the other hand, there are a great many
people who, having no private property of their own, and being
always on the brink of sheer starvation, are compelled to do the
work of beasts of burden, to do work that is quite uncongenial to
them, and to which they are forced by the peremptory, unreasonable,
degrading Tyranny of want. These are the poor, and amongst them
there is no grace of manner, or charm of speech, or civilisation,
or culture, or refinement in pleasures, or joy of life. From their
collective force Humanity gains much in material prosperity. But
it is only the material result that it gains, and the man who is
|
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 Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane: very good shirts.
But the regiment was not yet veteranlike in
appearance. Veteran regiments in the army
were likely to be very small aggregations of men.
Once, when the command had first come to the
field, some perambulating veterans, noting the
length of their column, had accosted them thus:
"Hey, fellers, what brigade is that?" And when
the men had replied that they formed a regiment
and not a brigade, the older soldiers had laughed,
and said, "O Gawd!"
The Red Badge of Courage |
