| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Fables by Robert Louis Stevenson: "Come," said the man, "behold a vision of our children, the busy
hearth, and the white heads. And let that suffice, for it is all
God offers."
"I have no delight in it," said she; but with that she sighed.
"The ways of life are straight like the grooves of launching," said
the man; and he took her by the hand.
"And what shall we do with the horseshoe?" quoth she.
"I will give it to your father," said the man; "and he can make a
kirk and a mill of it for me."
It came to pass in time that the Poor Thing was born; but memory of
these matters slept within him, and he knew not that which he had
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Expression of Emotion in Man and Animals by Charles Darwin: with more exactness from what point the sound proceeds.
But I have seen a dog greatly surprised at a new noise, turning,
his head to one side through habit, though he clearly perceived
the source of the noise. Dogs, as formerly remarked, when their
attention is in any way aroused, whilst watching some object,
or attending to some sound, often lift up one paw (fig. 4)
and keep it doubled up, as if to make a slow and stealthy approach.
A dog under extreme terror will throw himself down, howl, and void
his excretions; but the hair, I believe, does not become erect
unless some anger is felt. I have seen a dog much terrified
at a band of musicians who were playing loudly outside the house,
Expression of Emotion in Man and Animals |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Gobseck by Honore de Balzac: it was by the long dank locks of hair that straggled along his cheeks,
for he would never suffer them to cut it. He looked like some
religious fanatic in the desert. Mental suffering was extinguishing
all human instincts in this man of scarce fifty years of age, whom all
Paris had known as so brilliant and so successful.
"One morning at the beginning of December 1824, he looked up at
Ernest, who sat at the foot of his bed gazing at his father with
wistful eyes.
" 'Are you in pain?' the little Vicomte asked.
" 'No,' said the Count, with a ghastly smile, 'it all lies HERE AND
ABOUT MY HEART!'
Gobseck |
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 Helen of Troy And Other Poems by Sara Teasdale: We stood together silently,
Leaving the restless crowd awhile
As ships find shelter from the sea.
The ancient centuries came back
To cover us a moment's space,
And thro' the dome the light was glad
Because it shone upon your face.
Ah, not from Rome but farther still,
Beyond sun-smitten Salamis,
The moment took us, till you stooped
To find the present with a kiss.
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