| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Peter Pan by James M. Barrie: they were suddenly become spectators.
Very frightful was it to see the change that came over him. It
was as if he had been clipped at every joint. He fell in a
little heap.
The sound came steadily nearer; and in advance of it came this
ghastly thought, "The crocodile is about to board the ship!"
Even the iron claw hung inactive; as if knowing that it was no
intrinsic part of what the attacking force wanted. Left so
fearfully alone, any other man would have lain with his eyes shut
where he fell: but the gigantic brain of Hook was still working,
and under its guidance he crawled on he knees along the deck as
Peter Pan |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Tono Bungay by H. G. Wells: nonsensical sort of babytalk I picked up--I forget where
now--that became a mighty peacemaker.
Her worst offence for me was an occasional excursion into the
Smithie style of dressing, debased West Kensington. For she had
no sense at all of her own beauty. She had no comprehension
whatever of beauty of the body, and she could slash her beautiful
lines to rags with hat-brims and trimmings. Thank Heaven! a
natural refinement, a natural timidity, and her extremely
slender purse kept her from the real Smithie efflorescence!
Poor, simple, beautiful, kindly limited Marion! Now that I am
forty-five, I can look back at her with all my old admiration
|
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Marie by H. Rider Haggard: and then, after famine and fever attacked us, you rode away, and left us
to die to save your own dirty skin. And now you come back here for
help, saved by him whom you cheated in the Goose Kloof, by him whose
true love you have tried to steal. Oh, mein Gott! why does the Almighty
leave such fellows alive, while so many that are good and honest and
innocent lie beneath the soil because of stinkcats like you?"
So she went on, striding at the side of the pack-ox, and reviling
Pereira in a ceaseless stream of language, until at length he thrust his
thumbs into his ears and glared at her in speechless wrath.
Thus it was that at last we arrived in the camp, where, having seen us
coming, all the Boers were gathered. They are not a particularly
Marie |
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 What is Man? by Mark Twain: vowels are hardly necessary, this time.
We make five pen-strokes in writing an m. Thus: [Figure 5]
a stroke down; a stroke up; a second stroke down; a second stroke
up; a final stroke down. Total, five. The phonographic alphabet
accomplishes the m with a single stroke--a curve, like a
parenthesis that has come home drunk and has fallen face down
right at the front door where everybody that goes along will see
him and say, Alas!
When our written m is not the end of a word, but is
otherwise located, it has to be connected with the next letter,
and that requires another pen-stroke, making six in all, before
What is Man? |
