| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from On Horsemanship by Xenophon: his side. This position will give the rider absolute ease and
freedom,[11] and his hand the firmest hold.
[9] i.e. "below the knee"; "shin and calf."
[10] Lit. "pulled up" (and arranged the folds of his mantle).
[11] {eustalestatos}, "the most business-like deportment."
As to reins, we recommend those which are well balanced, without being
weak or slippery or thick, so that when necessary, the hand which
holds them can also grasp a spear.
As soon as the rider gives the signal to the horse to start,[12] he
should begin at a walking pace, which will tend to allay his
excitement. If the horse is inclined to droop his head, the reins
On Horsemanship |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Faith of Men by Jack London: and famine fell upon the land. The nights were long and dark, and
without meat no hooch could be bought; so they murmured against the
chief. This I had played for, and when they were well and hungry,
I summoned the whole village, made a great harangue, posed as
patriarch, and fed the famishing. Moosu made harangue likewise,
and because of this and the thing I had done I was made chief.
Moosu, who had the ear of God and decreed his judgments, anointed
me with whale blubber, and right blubberly he did it, not
understanding the ceremony. And between us we interpreted to the
people the new theory of the divine right of kings. There was
hooch galore, and meat and feastings, and they took kindly to the
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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 Happy Prince and Other Tales by Oscar Wilde: And the child smiled on the Giant, and said to him, "You let me
play once in your garden, to-day you shall come with me to my
garden, which is Paradise."
And when the children ran in that afternoon, they found the Giant
lying dead under the tree, all covered with white blossoms.
THE DEVOTED FRIEND
One morning the old Water-rat put his head out of his hole. He had
bright beady eyes and stiff grey whiskers and his tail was like a
long bit of black india-rubber. The little ducks were swimming
about in the pond, looking just like a lot of yellow canaries, and
their mother, who was pure white with real red legs, was trying to
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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 Tales of Unrest by Joseph Conrad: passionately, as if clamouring against an unjust aspersion.
He only said "oh!" and became silent. He could not understand this
unprovoked aggressiveness of her attitude, and certainly was very far
from thinking that an unpremeditated hint of something resembling
emotion in the tone of his last words had caused that uncontrollable
burst of sincerity. It completed his bewilderment, but he was not at
all angry now. He was as if benumbed by the fascination of the
incomprehensible. She stood before him, tall and indistinct, like a
black phantom in the red twilight. At last poignantly uncertain as to
what would happen if he opened his lips, he muttered:
"But if my love is strong enough . . ." and hesitated.
Tales of Unrest |
