| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Rasselas, Prince of Abyssinia by Samuel Johnson: no more of his labours. Tell me whither you went when you had seen
Persia."
"From Persia," said the poet, "I travelled through Syria, and for
three years resided in Palestine, where I conversed with great
numbers of the northern and western nations of Europe, the nations
which are now in possession of all power and all knowledge, whose
armies are irresistible, and whose fleets command the remotest
parts of the globe. When I compared these men with the natives of
our own kingdom and those that surround us, they appeared almost
another order of beings. In their countries it is difficult to
wish for anything that may not be obtained; a thousand arts, of
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Babbitt by Sinclair Lewis: appreciation of a fellow-orator he admired Dr. Drew's sermon. It had the
intellectual quality which distinguished the Chatham Road congregation from
the grubby chapels on Smith Street.
"At this abundant harvest-time of all the year," Dr. Drew chanted, "when,
though stormy the sky and laborious the path to the drudging wayfarer, yet the
hovering and bodiless spirit swoops back o'er all the labors and desires of
the past twelve months, oh, then it seems to me there sounds behind all our
apparent failures the golden chorus of greeting from those passed happily on;
and lo! on the dim horizon we see behind dolorous clouds the mighty mass of
mountains--mountains of melody, mountains of mirth, mountains of might!"
"I certainly do like a sermon with culture and thought in it," meditated
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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 On Horsemanship by Xenophon: should be called upon to deal with an animal either unduly spirited or
again unduly sluggish in disposition. The first point to recognise is,
that temper of spirit in a horse takes the place of passion or anger
in a man; and just as you may best escape exciting a man's ill-temper
by avoiding harshness of speech and act, so you will best avoid
enraging a spirited horse by not annoying him. Thus, from the first
instant, in the act of mounting him, you should take pains to minimise
the annoyance; and once on his back you should sit quiet for longer
than the ordinary time, and so urge him forward by the gentlest signs
possible; next, beginning at the slowest pace, gradually work him into
a quicker step, but so gradually that he will find himself at full
On Horsemanship |
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 Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell: She did not even feel his pinch, for she could hear clearly the
sweet voice that was Melanie's chief charm: "I fear I cannot
agree with you about Mr. Thackeray's works. He is a cynic. I
fear he is not the gentleman Mr. Dickens is."
What a silly thing to say to a man, thought Scarlett, ready to
giggle with relief. Why, she's no more than a bluestocking and
everyone knows what men think of bluestockings. . . . The way to
get a man interested and to hold his interest was to talk about
him, and then gradually lead the conversation around to yourself--
and keep it there. Scarlett would have felt some cause for alarm
if Melanie had been saying: "How wonderful you are!" or "How do
Gone With the Wind |
