| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Resurrection by Leo Tolstoy: "She will recover in the country, with God's help," said the
mother. "We shall send her to her father."
"Yes, if it were not for you she would have perished altogether,"
said the aunt. "Thank you. But what I wished to see you for is
this: I wished to ask you to take a letter to Vera Doukhova," and
she got the letter out of her pocket.
"The letter is not closed; you may read and tear it up, or hand
it to her, according to how far it coincides with your
principles," she said. "It contains nothing compromising."
Nekhludoff took the letter, and, having promised to give it to
Vera Doukhova, he took his leave and went away. He scaled the
Resurrection |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Across The Plains by Robert Louis Stevenson: rejecting riches: - everywhere some virtue cherished or affected,
everywhere some decency of thought and carriage, everywhere the
ensign of man's ineffectual goodness: - ah! if I could show you
this! if I could show you these men and women, all the world over,
in every stage of history, under every abuse of error, under every
circumstance of failure, without hope, without help, without
thanks, still obscurely fighting the lost fight of virtue, still
clinging, in the brothel or on the scaffold, to some rag of honour,
the poor jewel of their souls! They may seek to escape, and yet
they cannot; it is not alone their privilege and glory, but their
doom; they are condemned to some nobility; all their lives long,
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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 Sanitary and Social Lectures by Charles Kingsley: the gentlemen of the press; and last, but not least, the
scientific men. If those four classes together were to tell every
government--'Free water we will have, and as much as we reasonably
choose;' and tell every candidate for the House of Commons:
'Unless you promise to get us as much free water as we reasonably
choose, we will not return you to Parliament:' then, I think, we
four should put such a 'pressure' on Government as no water
companies, or other vested interests, could long resist. And if
any of those four classes should hang back, and waste their time
and influence over matters far less important and less pressing,
the other three must laugh at them, and more than laugh at them;
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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 Meno by Plato: politics what divination is in religion; for diviners and also prophets say
many things truly, but they know not what they say.
MENO: So I believe.
SOCRATES: And may we not, Meno, truly call those men 'divine' who, having
no understanding, yet succeed in many a grand deed and word?
MENO: Certainly.
SOCRATES: Then we shall also be right in calling divine those whom we were
just now speaking of as diviners and prophets, including the whole tribe of
poets. Yes, and statesmen above all may be said to be divine and
illumined, being inspired and possessed of God, in which condition they say
many grand things, not knowing what they say.
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