| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from A Sentimental Journey by Laurence Sterne: the vielle, - and at the age he was then of, touch'd it well enough
for the purpose. His wife sung now and then a little to the tune,
- then intermitted, - and join'd her old man again, as their
children and grand-children danced before them.
It was not till the middle of the second dance, when, from some
pauses in the movements, wherein they all seemed to look up, I
fancied I could distinguish an elevation of spirit different from
that which is the cause or the effect of simple jollity. In a
word, I thought I beheld RELIGION mixing in the dance: - but, as I
had never seen her so engaged, I should have look'd upon it now as
one of the illusions of an imagination which is eternally
|
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from On the Origin of Species by Charles Darwin: accidental, but this is not strictly correct: the currents of the sea are
not accidental, nor is the direction of prevalent gales of wind. It should
be observed that scarcely any means of transport would carry seeds for very
great distances; for seeds do not retain their vitality when exposed for a
great length of time to the action of seawater; nor could they be long
carried in the crops or intestines of birds. These means, however, would
suffice for occasional transport across tracts of sea some hundred miles in
breadth, or from island to island, or from a continent to a neighbouring
island, but not from one distant continent to another. The floras of
distant continents would not by such means become mingled in any great
degree; but would remain as distinct as we now see them to be. The
On the Origin of Species |
