| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Faith of Men by Jack London: sitting on the sled. Lawrence Pentfield stared straight out before
him into a dreary future, through the grey vistas of which he saw
himself riding on a sled behind running dogs with lame Lashka by
his side.
Then he spoke, quite simply, looking Mabel in the eyes.
"I am very sorry. I did not dream it. I thought you had married
Corry. That is Mrs. Pentfield sitting on the sled over there."
Mabel Holmes turned weakly toward her sister, as though all the
fatigue of her great journey had suddenly descended on her. Dora
caught her around the waist. Corry Hutchinson was still occupied
with his moccasins. Pentfield glanced quickly from face to face,
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Mrs. Warren's Profession by George Bernard Shaw: this leaves us at present, yours ever so devotedly.
PRAED. We do indeed, Miss Warren. I declare you are the most
splendidly courageous woman I ever met.
[This sentimental compliment braces Vivie. She throws it away
from her with an impatient shake, and forces herself to stand up,
though not without some support from the table.]
FRANK. Dont stir, Viv, if you dont want to. Take it easy.
VIVIE. Thank you. You an always depend on me for two things:
not to cry and not to faint. [She moves a few steps towards the
door of the inner room, and stops close to Praed to say] I shall
need much more courage than that when I tell my mother that we
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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 Sesame and Lilies by John Ruskin: and direct them, or they will discipline it, one day, with scorpion
whips. Above all, a nation cannot last as a money-making mob: it
cannot with impunity,--it cannot with existence,--go on despising
literature, despising science, despising art, despising nature,
despising compassion, and concentrating its soul on Pence. Do you
think these are harsh or wild words? Have patience with me but a
little longer. I will prove their truth to you, clause by clause.
(I.) I say first we have despised literature. What do we, as a
nation, care about books? How much do you think we spend altogether
on our libraries, public or private, as compared with what we spend
on our horses? If a man spends lavishly on his library, you call
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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 Mirror of the Sea by Joseph Conrad: force, merely another step forward upon the way of universal
conquest.
IX.
Every passage of a ship of yesterday, whose yards were braced round
eagerly the very moment the pilot, with his pockets full of
letters, had got over the side, was like a race - a race against
time, against an ideal standard of achievement outstripping the
expectations of common men. Like all true art, the general conduct
of a ship and her handling in particular cases had a technique
which could be discussed with delight and pleasure by men who found
in their work, not bread alone, but an outlet for the peculiarities
The Mirror of the Sea |
