| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Heroes by Charles Kingsley: while. She saw how AEgeus turned red and pale when the lad
said that he came from Troezene. She saw, too, how his heart
was opened toward Theseus; and how Theseus bore himself
before all the sons of Pallas, like a lion among a pack of
curs. And she said to herself, 'This youth will be master
here; perhaps he is nearer to AEgeus already than mere fancy.
At least the Pallantilds will have no chance by the side of
such as he.'
Then she went back into her chamber modestly, while Theseus
ate and drank; and all the servants whispered, 'This, then,
is the man who killed the monsters! How noble are his looks,
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Alexandria and her Schools by Charles Kingsley: noble, and divine principle or ground for it? And thus grew up, both in
Egypt, Syria, and Byzantium, a chaos of profligacy and chicanery, in
rulers and people, in the home and the market, in the theatre and the
senate, such as the world has rarely seen before or since; a chaos which
reached its culmination in the seventh century, the age of Justinian and
Theodora, perhaps the two most hideous sovereigns, worshipped by the
most hideous empire of parasites and hypocrites, cowards and wantons,
that ever insulted the long-suffering of a righteous God.
But, for Alexandria at least, the cup was now full. In the year 640 the
Alexandrians were tearing each other in pieces about some Jacobite and
Melchite controversy, to me incomprehensible, to you unimportant,
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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 Spirit of the Border by Zane Grey: so much faster, an' steals all the food from the others, the mother jest takes
him by the nape of the neck an' chucks him out in the world to shift fer
hisself. An' it's a good thing."
The next day Wetzel told Joe they would go across country to seek new game
fields. Accordingly the two set out, and tramped industriously until evening.
They came upon a country no less beautiful than the one they had left, though
the picturesque cliffs and rugged hills had given way to a rolling land, the
luxuriance of which was explained by the abundant springs and streams. Forests
and fields were thickly interspersed with bubbling springs, narrow and deep
streams, and here and there a small lake with a running outlet.
Wetzel had said little concerning this region, but that little was enough to
The Spirit of the Border |
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 Tanglewood Tales by Nathaniel Hawthorne: and set off through the air in pursuit of the thieves, whom
they at last overtook among some islands, after a chase of
hundreds of miles. The two winged youths blustered terribly at
the Harpies (for they had the rough temper of their father),
and so frightened them with their drawn swords, that they
solemnly promised never to trouble King Phineus again.
Then the Argonauts sailed onward and met with many other
marvelous incidents, any one of which would make a story by
itself. At one time they landed on an island, and were reposing
on the grass, when they suddenly found themselves assailed by
what seemed a shower of steel-headed arrows. Some of them stuck
Tanglewood Tales |
