| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Flame and Shadow by Sara Teasdale: The primrose has opened her pale yellow flowers
And heaven is lighting star after star.
Places I love come back to me like music --
Mid-ocean, midnight, the waves buzz drowsily;
In the ship's deep churning the eerie phosphorescence
Is like the souls of people who were drowned at sea,
And I can hear a man's voice, speaking, hushed, insistent,
At midnight, in mid-ocean, hour on hour to me.
Old Tunes
As the waves of perfume, heliotrope, rose,
Float in the garden when no wind blows,
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Memorabilia by Xenophon: observe what tender pains the gods have taken to furnish man with all
his needs?
[5] For the subject matter of this "teleological" chapter, see above,
I. iv.; K. Joel, op. cit. Appendix, p. 547 foll. in ref. to
Dummler's views.
Euth. No indeed, I cannot say that it has ever struck me.
Well (Socrates cotinued), you do not need to be reminded that, in the
first place, we need light, and with light the gods supply us.
Euth. Most true, and if we had not got it we should, as far as our own
eyes could help us, be like men born blind.
Soc. And then, again, seeing that we stand in need of rest and
The Memorabilia |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from The Pool in the Desert by Sara Jeanette Duncan: demanded a cup of tea, and would not be denied. After all, she
consoled herself, no situation was improved by being turned too
suddenly upside down.
She did not wholly withdraw his privilege of taking counsel with
her, and he continued to go away freshened and calmed, leaving her
to toss little sad reflections into the fire, and tremulously wonder
whether the jewel of her love had flashed ever so little behind the
eyes. They both saw it a conspicuous thing that as those three
weeks went on, neither he nor she alluded even remotely to Mrs.
Innes, but the fact remained, and they allowed it to remain.
Nevertheless, Madeline knew precisely when that lady was expected,
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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 Maid Marian by Thomas Love Peacock: years ago. The inference is most consecutive, that wherever you
catch a red-fleshed trout, love lies bleeding under the water:
an occult quality, which can only act in the stationary waters of a lake,
being neutralised by the rapid transition of those of a stream."
"And why is the trout shyer for that?" asked Sir Ralph.
"Do you not see?" said brother Michael. "The virtues of both
lovers diffuse themselves through the lake. The infusion
of masculine valour makes the fish active and sanguineous:
the infusion of maiden modesty makes him coy and hard to win:
and you shall find through life, the fish which is most
easily hooked is not the best worth dishing. But yonder are
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