| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Dust by Mr. And Mrs. Haldeman-Julius: the very tissues of his mind.
He remembered how his own father had died on this farm--he had
had no possessions to think about; only his loved ones, his wife
and his children; but he had brought them here that they might
amass property out of Martin's sweat and the dust of the prairie.
Now he, the son, dying, had in his mind no thought of people, but
of this land and of stock and of things. And how strangely his
mind was reacting to it. His concern was not who should own them
all, but what would actually be the fate of each individual
property child of his. Why, he had not even written a will. It
would all go to his wife, of course, and how little he cared to
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from King James Bible: JER 38:18 But if thou wilt not go forth to the king of Babylon's
princes, then shall this city be given into the hand of the Chaldeans,
and they shall burn it with fire, and thou shalt not escape out of their
hand.
JER 38:19 And Zedekiah the king said unto Jeremiah, I am afraid of the
Jews that are fallen to the Chaldeans, lest they deliver me into their
hand, and they mock me.
JER 38:20 But Jeremiah said, They shall not deliver thee. Obey, I
beseech thee, the voice of the LORD, which I speak unto thee: so it
shall be well unto thee, and thy soul shall live.
JER 38:21 But if thou refuse to go forth, this is the word that the
King James Bible |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Tao Teh King by Lao-tze: Sacrifices to his shrine.
2. Tao when nursed within one's self,
His vigour will make true;
And where the family it rules
What riches will accrue!
The neighbourhood where it prevails
In thriving will abound;
And when 'tis seen throughout the state,
Good fortune will be found.
Employ it the kingdom o'er,
And men thrive all around.
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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 Second Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling: Answer, who shall turn him--who shall stay?
Man goes to Man! He is weeping in the Jungle:
He that was our Brother sorrows sore!
Man goes to Man! (Oh, we loved him in the Jungle!)
To the Man-Trail where we may not follow more.
The second year after the great fight with Red Dog and the death
of Akela, Mowgli must have been nearly seventeen years old.
He looked older, for hard exercise, the best of good eating,
and baths whenever he felt in the least hot or dusty, had given
him strength and growth far beyond his age. He could swing by
one hand from a top branch for half an hour at a time, when he
The Second Jungle Book |
