| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Crisis in Russia by Arthur Ransome: politically, in the hope of altering the present state of affairs
economically. And this is entirely natural. Everybody,
Communists included, rails bitterly at the inefficiencies of
the present system, but everybody, Anti-Communists
included, admits that there is nothing whatever capable of
taking its place. Its failure is highly undesirable, not because
it itself is good, but because such failure would be preceded
or followed by a breakdown of all existing organizations.
Food distribution, inadequate as it now is, would come to an
end. The innumerable non-political committees, which are
rather like Boards of Directors controlling the Timber, Fur,
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Malbone: An Oldport Romance by Thomas Wentworth Higginson: side.
Nine tenths of the distance had been accomplished, when the
little girl grew quite impatient, and Hope bade Harry swim on
before her, and land his charge. Light and buoyant as the child
was, her tightened clasp had begun to tell on him.
"It tires you, Hal, to bear that weight so long, and you know I
have nothing to carry. You must see that I am not in the least
tired, only a little dazzled by the sun. Here, Charley, give
me your hat, and then row on with Mr. Harry." She put on the
boy's torn straw hat, and they yielded to her wish. People
almost always yielded to Hope's wishes when she expressed
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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 Twenty Years After by Alexandre Dumas: D'Artagnan, smiling as he pronounced the imprecation; "I
declare I feel quite ill after only being five minutes in
the courtyard. Go to! go to! I would rather die on straw
than hoard up a thousand a year by being governor of the
Bastile."
He had scarcely finished this soliloquy before the prisoner
arrived. On seeing him D'Artagnan could hardly suppress an
exclamation of surprise. The prisoner got into the carriage
without seeming to recognize the musketeer.
"Gentlemen," thus D'Artagnan addressed the four musketeers,
"I am ordered to exercise the greatest possible care in
Twenty Years After |
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 Massimilla Doni by Honore de Balzac: dominant G, starting afresh and /fortissimo/ on the tonic B flat,
drifting into F major and back to C minor, and in each key in turn
more ominously terrible, chill, and dark, we are compelled at last to
enter into the impression intended by the composer."
The Frenchman was, in fact, deeply moved when all this united sorrow
exploded in the cry:
"O Nume d'Israel,
Se brami in liberta
Il popol tuo fedel,
Di lui di noi pieta!"
(O God of Israel, if thou wouldst see thy faithful people free, have
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