| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Beyond Good and Evil by Friedrich Nietzsche: their instinct, which repels them from MODERN reality, is
unrefuted...what do their retrograde by-paths concern us! The
main thing about them is NOT that they wish to go "back," but
that they wish to get AWAY therefrom. A little MORE strength,
swing, courage, and artistic power, and they would be OFF--and
not back!
11. It seems to me that there is everywhere an attempt at present
to divert attention from the actual influence which Kant
exercised on German philosophy, and especially to ignore
prudently the value which he set upon himself. Kant was first and
foremost proud of his Table of Categories; with it in his hand he
Beyond Good and Evil |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Paradise Lost by John Milton: Infinite goodness, grace, and mercy, shewn
On Man by him seduced, but on himself
Treble confusion, wrath, and vengeance poured.
Forthwith upright he rears from off the pool
His mighty stature; on each hand the flames
Driven backward slope their pointing spires, and,rolled
In billows, leave i' th' midst a horrid vale.
Then with expanded wings he steers his flight
Aloft, incumbent on the dusky air,
That felt unusual weight; till on dry land
He lights--if it were land that ever burned
Paradise Lost |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Gobseck by Honore de Balzac: " 'It was no business of mine to inquire what value she had received
for it,' said Gobseck, with a malignant look at the Count. 'I had come
by the bill in the way of business. At the same time, monsieur,'
continued Gobseck, quietly pouring coffee into his bowl of milk,
without a trace of excitement or hurry in his voice, 'you will permit
me to observe that your right to enter my house and expostulate with
me is far from proven to my mind. I came of age in the sixty-first
year of the preceding century.'
" 'Sir,' said the Count, 'you have just bought family diamonds, which
do not belong to my wife, for a mere trifle.'
" 'Without feeling it incumbent upon me to tell you my private
Gobseck |
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 Voyage Out by Virginia Woolf: They spoke very apologetically in low tones, refusing to sit down,
but remaining for a considerable time standing up, although the only
thing they had to say was, "Is there anything we can do?" and there
was nothing they could do.
Feeling oddly detached from it all, Terence remembered how Helen had said
that whenever anything happened to you this was how people behaved.
Was she right, or was she wrong? He was too little interested
to frame an opinion of his own. He put things away in his mind,
as if one of these days he would think about them, but not now.
The mist of unreality had deepened and deepened until it had
produced a feeling of numbness all over his body. Was it his body?
|
