| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from When the World Shook by H. Rider Haggard: generations, he went so far as to express real admiration, a very
rare thing with Oro, who was by nature critical. I could see that
mentally he put a white mark against their name.
India, too, really moved him. He admired the ancient buildings
at Delhi and Agra, especially the Taj Mahal. This, he declared,
was reminiscent of some of the palaces that stood at Pani, the
capital city of the Sons of Wisdom, before it was destroyed by
the Barbarians.
The English administration of the country also attracted a word
of praise from him, I think because of its rather autocratic
character. Indeed he went so far as to declare that, with certain
When the World Shook |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Shadow Line by Joseph Conrad: tempted to keep a diary. No, not the only one.
Years later, in conditions of moral isolation, I did
put down on paper the thoughts and events of a
score of days. But this was the first time. I don't
remember how it came about or how the pocket-
book and the pencil came into my hands. It's in-
conceivable that I should have looked for them on
purpose. I suppose they saved me from the crazy
trick of talking to myself.
Strangely enough, in both cases I took to that
sort of thing in circumstances in which I did not ex-
The Shadow Line |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Fisherman's Luck by Henry van Dyke: often brings it into discredit. I mean the vice of talkativeness.
That is a selfish, one-sided, inharmonious affair, full of
discomfort, and productive of most unchristian feelings.
You may observe the operations of this vice not only in human
beings, but also in birds. All the birds in the bush can make some
kind of a noise; and most of them like to do it; and some of them
like it a great deal and do it very much. But it is not always for
edification, nor are the most vociferous and garrulous birds
commonly the most pleasing. A parrot, for instance, in your
neighbour's back yard, in the summer time, when the windows are
open, is not an aid to the development of Christian character. I
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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 Children of the Night by Edwin Arlington Robinson: To-night, -- yes, more than I dare to remember;
And then -- well, the music stopped. There are moments
In all men's lives when it stops, I fancy, --
Or seems to stop, -- till it comes to cheer them
Again with a larger sound. The curtain
Of life just then is lifted a little
To give to their sight new joys -- new sorrows --
Or nothing at all, sometimes. I was watching
The slow, sweet scenes of a golden picture,
Flushed and alive with a long delusion
That made the murmur of home, when I shuddered
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