| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Critias by Plato: alone in the struggle, in which she conquered and became the liberator of
Greece, is also an allusion to the later history. Hence we may safely
conclude that the entire narrative is due to the imagination of Plato, who
has used the name of Solon and introduced the Egyptian priests to give
verisimilitude to his story. To the Greek such a tale, like that of the
earth-born men, would have seemed perfectly accordant with the character of
his mythology, and not more marvellous than the wonders of the East
narrated by Herodotus and others: he might have been deceived into
believing it. But it appears strange that later ages should have been
imposed upon by the fiction. As many attempts have been made to find the
great island of Atlantis, as to discover the country of the lost tribes.
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Weir of Hermiston by Robert Louis Stevenson: retire into solitude. If he had but understood the figure he presented,
and the impression he made on these bright eyes and tender hearts; if he
had but guessed that the Recluse of Hermiston, young, graceful, well
spoken, but always cold, stirred the maidens of the county with the
charm of Byronism when Byronism was new, it may be questioned whether
his destiny might not even yet have been modified. It may be
questioned, and I think it should be doubted. It was in his horoscope
to be parsimonious of pain to himself, or of the chance of pain, even to
the avoidance of any opportunity of pleasure; to have a Roman sense of
duty, an instinctive aristocracy of manners and taste; to be the son of
Adam Weir and Jean Rutherford.
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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 Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell: sister of Mist' Frank. An' Ah's heshed mah mouf 'bout a heap of
things you is done, lak sellin' po' lumber fer good, an' lyin'
'bout de other lumber gempmums, an' ridin' roun' by yo'seff,
exposin' yo'seff ter free issue niggers an' gettin' Mist' Frank
shot, an' not feedin' dem po' convicts nuff ter keep dey souls in
dey bodies. Ah's done heshed mah mouf, even ef Miss Ellen in de
Promise Lan' wuz sayin' 'Mammy, Mammy! You ain' look affer mah
chile right!' Yas'm. Ah's stood fer all dat but Ah ain' gwine
stand fer dis, Miss Scarlett. You kain mahy wid trash. Not w'ile
Ah got breaf in mah body."
"I shall marry whom I please," said Scarlett coldly. "I think you
Gone With the Wind |
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 Outlaw of Torn by Edgar Rice Burroughs: replied with haughty scorn. "The same that it shall
always be. I will be neither wife nor mistress to a co-
ward; a hideous, abhorrent pig of a man. I would die,
it seems, if I felt the touch of your hand upon me.
You do not dare to touch me, you craven. I, the daugh-
ter of an earl, the niece of a king, wed to the warty toad,
Peter of Colfax!"
"Hold, chit!" cried the Baron, livid with rage. "You
have gone too far. Enough of this; and you love me not
now I shall learn you to love ere the sun rises." And with
a vile oath he grasped the girl roughly by the arm, and
The Outlaw of Torn |
