| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from King Henry VI by William Shakespeare: 'Twas full of darnel: do you like the taste?
BURGUNDY.
Scoff on, vile fiend and shameless courtezan!
I trust ere long to choke thee with thine own,
And make thee curse the harvest of that corn.
CHARLES.
Your Grace may starve perhaps before that time.
BEDFORD.
O, let no words, but deeds, revenge this treason!
PUCELLE.
What will you do, good graybeard? break a lance,
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Nada the Lily by H. Rider Haggard: for Dingaan. Ou! the story is known now; one told it up at the kraal
Umgugundhlovu who shall tell it no more. She prayed me to save her
from Dingaan, and so I did, and all would have gone well had it not
been for a certain traitor who is done with, for I took another to
Dingaan. Look on her now, my friends, and say if I did not well to win
her--the Lily flower, such as there is no other in the world, to be
the joy of the People of the Axe and a wife to me."
With one accord the headmen answered: "Indeed you did well,
Slaughterer," for the glamour of Nada was upon them and they would
cherish her as others had cherished her. Only Galazi the Wolf shook
his head. But he said nothing, for words do not avail against fate.
Nada the Lily |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Pericles by William Shakespeare: To-morrow all for speeding do their best.
[Exeunt.]
SCENE IV. Tyre. A room in the Govenor's house.
[Enter Helicanus and Escanes.]
HELICANUS.
No, Escanes, know this of me,
Antiochus from incest lived not free:
For which, the most high gods not minding longer
To withhold the vengeance that they had in store
Due to this heinous capital offence,
Even in the height and pride of all his glory,
|
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 War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells: were hushed, and as we hurried along I and the artilleryman
talked in whispers and looked now and again over our
shoulders. Once or twice we stopped to listen.
After a time we drew near the road, and as we did so we
heard the clatter of hoofs and saw through the tree stems
three cavalry soldiers riding slowly towards Woking. We
hailed them, and they halted while we hurried towards them.
It was a lieutenant and a couple of privates of the 8th Hus-
sars, with a stand like a theodolite, which the artilleryman
told me was a heliograph.
"You are the first men I've seen coming this way this morn-
War of the Worlds |
