| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Historical Lecturers and Essays by Charles Kingsley: bettering itself in life, why, I think that those who have studied
the history which lies behind them, and the poor human nature which
is struggling, and sinning, and sorrowing, and failing around them,
and which seems on the greater part of this planet going downwards
and not upwards, and by no means bettering itself, save in the
increase of opera-houses, liquor-bars, and gambling-tables, and that
which pertaineth thereto; then we, I think, may be excused if we say
with the old Stoics--[Greek text]--I withhold my judgment. I know
nothing about the matter yet; and you, oh my imaginative though
learned friends, know I suspect very little either.
Eldest of things, Divine Equality:
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Schoolmistress and Other Stories by Anton Chekhov: ---- * On many railway lines, in order to avoid accidents, it is
against the regulations to carry hay on the trains, and so live
stock are without fodder on the journey. -- Author's Note.
**The train destined especially for the transport of troops is
called the troop train; when they are no troops it takes goods,
and goes more rapidly than ordinary goods train. -- Author's
Note.
SORROW
THE turner, Grigory Petrov, who had been known for years past as
a splendid craftsman, and at the same time as the most senseless
peasant in the Galtchinskoy district, was taking his old woman to
The Schoolmistress and Other Stories |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Madam How and Lady Why by Charles Kingsley: though I may not be able to tell you the reasons of things, or
show you aught but a tiny glimpse here and there of that which I
called the other day the glory of Lady Why, yet I believe that
somehow, somewhen, somewhere, you will learn something of the
reason of things. For that thirst to know WHY was put into the
hearts of little children by God Himself; and I believe that God
would never have given them that thirst if He had not meant to
satisfy it.
There--you do not understand me. I trust that you will understand
me some day. Meanwhile, I think--I only say I THINK--you know I
told you how humble we must be whenever we speak of Lady Why--that
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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 The Breaking Point by Mary Roberts Rinehart: inquest records, and finding them of engrossing interest, saw the
futility of saving a man who could not be found. And even Nina's
faith, that the fabulously rich could not die obscurely, began to
fade as the summer waned. She restored some of her favor to Wallie
Sayre, and even listened again to his alternating hopes and fears.
And by the end of September he felt that he had gained real headway
with Elizabeth. He had come to a point where she needed him more
than she realized, where the call in her of youth for youth, even
in trouble, was insistent. In return he felt his responsibility
and responded to it. In the vernacular of the town he had "settled
down," and the general trend of opinion, which had previously
The Breaking Point |
