| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Albert Savarus by Honore de Balzac: he could not come by the Saint-Gothard, nor by the Mont-Cenis, nor by
the Simplon; he came by sea, by Marseilles, and had to cross France.
Well, in three weeks we shall be at Geneva, and living at our ease.
Come, Rodolphe," she added, seeing sadness overspread the Parisian's
face, "is not the Lake of Geneva quite as good as the Lake of
Lucerne?"
"But allow me to bestow a regret on the Bergmanns' delightful house,"
said Rodolphe, pointing to the little promontory.
"Come and dine with us to add to your associations, /povero mio/,"
said she. "This is a great day; we are out of danger. My mother writes
that within a year there will be an amnesty. Oh! /la cara patria/!"
Albert Savarus |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain: us to run him down the river on the raft, and have
adventures plumb to the mouth of the river, and then
tell him about his being free, and take him back up
home on a steamboat, in style, and pay him for his
lost time, and write word ahead and get out all the
niggers around, and have them waltz him into town
with a torchlight procession and a brass-band, and then
he would be a hero, and so would we. But I reckoned
it was about as well the way it was.
We had Jim out of the chains in no time, and when
Aunt Polly and Uncle Silas and Aunt Sally found out
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from On Horsemanship by Xenophon: all the animals, their spirit, fire, grace of mien and bearing ripe
for action--I say, if you take the lead of them in this style, the
collective thud, the general neighing and the snorting of the horses
will combine to render not only you at the head, but your whole
company[10] down to the last man a thrilling spectacle.
[9] Reading as vulg. {os malista epainousi tous toioutous ippous, os}.
L. Dind. omits the words as a gloss.
[10] Reading {oi} (for {osoi}) {sumparepomenoi}. See Hartmann, "An.
Xen. Nov." xiv. p. 343.
One word more. Supposing a man has shown some skill in purchasing his
horses, and can rear them into strong and serviceable animals,
On Horsemanship |
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 The Perfect Wagnerite: A Commentary on the Niblung's Ring by George Bernard Shaw: of his merry mood for the regular set numbers in which he could
make one of his wonderful contrapuntal traceries of pure ornament
with the requisite gaiety of line and movement. Beethoven bowed
to no ideal of beauty: he only sought the expression for his
feeling. To him a joke was a joke; and if it sounded funny in
music he was satisfied. Until the old habit of judging all music
by its decorative symmetry had worn out, musicians were shocked
by his symphonies, and, misunderstanding his integrity, openly
questioned his sanity. But to those who were not looking for
pretty new sound patterns, but were longing for the expression of
their moods in music, he achieved revelation, because, being
|
