| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Persuasion by Jane Austen: and I felt that I had still a motive for remaining here."
At last Anne was at home again, and happier than any one in that house
could have conceived. All the surprise and suspense, and every other
painful part of the morning dissipated by this conversation,
she re-entered the house so happy as to be obliged to find an alloy
in some momentary apprehensions of its being impossible to last.
An interval of meditation, serious and grateful, was the best corrective
of everything dangerous in such high-wrought felicity; and she went
to her room, and grew steadfast and fearless in the thankfulness
of her enjoyment.
The evening came, the drawing-rooms were lighted up, the company assembled.
Persuasion |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Pagan and Christian Creeds by Edward Carpenter: interposition of Providence, which depended entirely on the
powers above, and could hardly be expected to occur again.
[1] Ch. II.
[2] One of Celsus' accusations against the Christians was that
their Gospels had been written "several times over" (see Origen,
Contra Celsum, ii. 26, 27).
However, the question is not what we desire, but what
we can prove to be the actual fact. And certainly the
difficulties in the way of regarding the Gospel story (or
stories, for there is not one consistent story) as TRUE are
enormous. If anyone will read, for instance, in the four Gospels,
Pagan and Christian Creeds |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Hellenica by Xenophon: command obedience when the necessaries of life were lacking; whereat
the Spartan struck one man with his staff, and another with the butt
of his spear. Without spirit and full of resentment against their
general, the men mustered--a condition very unfavourable to success in
battle. Having drawn up the troops, the general in person repulsed the
division of the enemy which was opposite the gates, and pursued them
closely; but these, rallying close under their walls, turned right
about, and from under cover of the tombs kept up a continuous
discharge of darts and other missiles; other detachments, dashing out
at other gates, meanwhile fell heavily on the flanks of the enemy. The
Lacedaemonians, being drawn up eight deep, and thinking that the wing
|
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 Night and Day by Virginia Woolf: interposed, rather resenting the waste of time involved in talking
about fictitious people when you might be talking about real people.
"But you wouldn't remember him, Katharine."
"Mr. Lavington? Oh, yes, I do," said Katharine, waking from other
thoughts with her little start. "The summer we had a house near Tenby.
I remember the field and the pond with the tadpoles, and making
haystacks with Mr. Lavington."
"She is right. There WAS a pond with tadpoles," Mrs. Cosham
corroborated. "Millais made studies of it for 'Ophelia.' Some say that
is the best picture he ever painted--"
"And I remember the dog chained up in the yard, and the dead snakes
|
