| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Letters of Robert Louis Stevenson by Robert Louis Stevenson: politics; not much in my line, you will say. But it is impossible
to live here and not feel very sorely the consequences of the
horrid white mismanagement. I tried standing by and looking on,
and it became too much for me. They are such illogical fools; a
logical fool in an office, with a lot of red tape, is conceivable.
Furthermore, he is as much as we have any reason to expect of
officials - a thoroughly common-place, unintellectual lot. But
these people are wholly on wires; laying their ears down, skimming
away, pausing as though shot, and presto! full spread on the other
tack. I observe in the official class mostly an insane jealousy of
the smallest kind, as compared to which the artist's is of a grave,
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Agnes Grey by Anne Bronte: those light clouds in the west, there will be a brilliant sunset,
and we shall be in time to witness its effect upon the sea, at the
most moderate rate of progression.'
When we had got about half-way up the hill, we fell into silence
again; which, as usual, he was the first to break.
'My house is desolate yet, Miss Grey,' he smilingly observed, 'and
I am acquainted now with all the ladies in my parish, and several
in this town too; and many others I know by sight and by report;
but not one of them will suit me for a companion; in fact, there is
only one person in the world that will: and that is yourself; and
I want to know your decision?'
Agnes Grey |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Faraday as a Discoverer by John Tyndall: attraction of the earth and weight exists when they are in contact
as when they were separate; but the ability of that attraction to
employ itself in the production of motion does not exist.
The transformation, in this case, is easily followed by the mind's
eye. First, the weight as a whole is set in motion by the attraction
of gravity. This motion of the mass is arrested by collision with
the earth; being broken up into molecular tremors, to which we give
the name of heat.
And when we reverse the process, and employ those tremors of heat to
raise a weight, as is done through the intermediation of an elastic
fluid in the steam-engine, a certain definite portion of the
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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 Lady Chatterley's Lover by D. H. Lawrence: money out of the chemical by-products than out of the coal--I forget
what it is. And the grand new houses for the men, fair mansions! of
course it's brought a lot of riff-raff from all over the country. But a
lot of Tevershall men got on there, and doin' well, a lot better than
our own men. They say Tevershall's done, finished: only a question of a
few more years, and it'll have to shut down. And New London'll go
first. My word, won't it be funny when there's no Tevershall pit
working. It's bad enough during a strike, but my word, if it closes for
good, it'll be like the end of the world. Even when I was a girl it was
the best pit in the country, and a man counted himself lucky if he
could on here. Oh, there's been some money made in Tevershall. And now
Lady Chatterley's Lover |
