| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Marie by H. Rider Haggard: of the Great Trek and its tragedies, such as the massacre of the
true-hearted Retief and his companions at the hands of the Zulu king,
Dingaan.
But you have read the tale and know its substance. What, then, remains
for me to say? Only that in memory of long-past days I dedicate it to
you whose image ever springs to mind when I strive to picture an English
gentleman as he should be. Your kindness I never shall forget; in
memory of it, I offer you this book.
Ever sincerely yours,
H. RIDER HAGGARD.
To Sir Henry Bulwer, G.C.M.G.
 Marie |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Waste Land by T. S. Eliot: (The queen) was alone with Lord Robert and myself on the poop,
when they began to talk nonsense, and went so far that Lord Robert
at last said, as I was on the spot there was no reason why they
should not be married if the queen pleased.
293. Cf. PURGATORIO, v. 133:
'Ricorditi di me, che son la Pia;
Siena mi fe', disfecemi Maremma.'
307. _V._ St. Augustine's CONFESSIONS: 'to Carthage then I came,
where a cauldron of unholy loves sang all about mine ears'.
308. The complete text of the Buddha's Fire Sermon (which corresponds
in importance to the Sermon on the Mount) from which these words are taken,
 The Waste Land |