| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Symposium by Plato: explanation of it is rather perplexing. For, observe that open loves are
held to be more honourable than secret ones, and that the love of the
noblest and highest, even if their persons are less beautiful than others,
is especially honourable. Consider, too, how great is the encouragement
which all the world gives to the lover; neither is he supposed to be doing
anything dishonourable; but if he succeeds he is praised, and if he fail he
is blamed. And in the pursuit of his love the custom of mankind allows him
to do many strange things, which philosophy would bitterly censure if they
were done from any motive of interest, or wish for office or power. He may
pray, and entreat, and supplicate, and swear, and lie on a mat at the door,
and endure a slavery worse than that of any slave--in any other case
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Memoir of Fleeming Jenkin by Robert Louis Stevenson: of the task, led him to take up at forty-one the study of Gaelic;
in which he made some shadow of progress, but not much: the
fastnesses of that elusive speech retaining to the last their
independence. At the house of his friend Mrs. Blackburn, who plays
the part of a Highland lady as to the manner born, he learned the
delightful custom of kitchen dances, which became the rule at his
own house and brought him into yet nearer contact with his
neighbours. And thus at forty-two, he began to learn the reel; a
study, to which he brought his usual smiling earnestness; and the
steps, diagrammatically represented by his own hand, are before me
as I write.
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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 From London to Land's End by Daniel Defoe: all enclosed, and grown with woods, forests, and planted hedge-
rows; the country rich, fertile, and populous; the towns and houses
standing thick and being large and full of inhabitants, and those
inhabitants fully employed in the richest and most valuable
manufacture in the world--viz., the English clothing, as well the
medley or mixed clothing as whites, as well for the home trade as
the foreign trade, of which I shall take leave to be very
particular in my return through the west and north part of
Wiltshire in the latter part of this work.
In my return to my western progress, I passed some little part of
Somersetshire, as through Evil or Yeovil, upon the River Ivil, in
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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 Flower Fables by Louisa May Alcott: So they passed to the bed beside the discontented bee, and here upon
the softest down lay the dove, whose gentle eyes looked gratefully
upon the Fairy, as she knelt beside the little couch, smoothed the
soft white bosom, folded her arms about it and wept sorrowing tears,
while the bird still whispered its gratitude and love.
"Dear Fairy, the fairest flowers have cheered me with their sweet
breath, fresh dew and fragrant leaves have been ever ready for me,
gentle hands to tend, kindly hearts to love; and for this I can only
thank you and say farewell."
Then the quivering wings were still, and the patient little dove
was dead; but the bee murmured no longer, and the dew from the flowers
Flower Fables |
