| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from On the Duty of Civil Disobedience by Henry David Thoreau: yourself always tucked up and ready for a start, and not
have many affairs. A man may grow rich in Turkey even, if
he will be in all respects a good subject of the Turkish
government. Confucius said: "If a state is governed by the
principles of reason, poverty and misery are subjects of
shame; if a state is not governed by the principles of
reason, riches and honors are subjects of shame." No: until
I want the protection of Massachusetts to be extended to me
in some distant Southern port, where my liberty is
endangered, or until I am bent solely on building up an
estate at home by peaceful enterprise, I can afford to
On the Duty of Civil Disobedience |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Little Rivers by Henry van Dyke: through it very straight and swift, some four feet deep and thirty
yards across. As the tail-fly reached the middle of the water, a
fine trout literally turned a somersault over it, but without
touching it. At the next cast he was ready, taking it with a rush
that carried him into the air with the fly in his mouth. He
weighed three-quarters of a pound. The next one was equally eager
in rising and sharp in playing, and the third might have been his
twin sister or brother. So, after casting for hours and taking
nothing in the most beautiful pools, I landed three trout from one
unlikely place in fifteen minutes. That was because the trout's
supper-time had arrived. So had mine. I walked over to the
|
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Nada the Lily by H. Rider Haggard: for the fate of Umslopogaas, my fosterling. Dingaan also was very
glad, and, springing up, danced to and fro like a child.
"Now at last we have good tidings," he said, at once forgetting the
stamping of the fire, "and now shall my eyes behold that Lily whom my
hand has longed to pluck. Let Bulalio and his people enter swiftly."
For awhile there was silence; then from far away, without the high
fence of the great place, there came a sound of singing, and through
the gates of the kraal rushed two great men, wearing black plumes upon
their heads, having black shields in their left hands, and in their
right, one an axe and one a club; while about their shoulders were
bound wolf-skins. They ran low, neck and neck, with outstretched
Nada the Lily |
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 Secret Agent by Joseph Conrad: Mr Vladimir stopped, and became guttural. "What makes you say
that?"
"I don't. It's Verloc who says that."
"A lying dog of some sort," said Mr Vladimir in somewhat Oriental
phraseology. But in his heart he was almost awed by the miraculous
cleverness of the English police. The change of his opinion on the
subject was so violent that it made him for a moment feel slightly
sick. He threw away his cigar, and moved on.
"What pleased me most in this affair," the Assistant went on,
talking slowly, "is that it makes such an excellent starting-point
for a piece of work which I've felt must be taken in hand - that
The Secret Agent |
