| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from The Varieties of Religious Experience by William James: and health, in summer, in the woods or on the mountains, there
come days when the weather seems all whispering with peace, hours
when the goodness and beauty of existence enfold us like a dry
warm climate, or chime through us as if our inner ears were
subtly ringing with the world's security. Thoreau writes:--
[155] Above, pp. 243 ff.
"Once, a few weeks after I came to the woods, for an hour I
doubted whether the near neighborhood of man was not essential to
a serene and healthy life. To be alone was somewhat unpleasant.
But, in the midst of a gentle rain, while these thoughts
prevailed, I was suddenly sensible of such sweet and beneficent
|
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on the visible world, and is drawn from The Unseen World and Other Essays by John Fiske: matter that is long since out of date and functionally effete.
Why should not the universe bury its dead out of sight?"
In one respect perhaps no more stupendous subject of
contemplation than this has ever been offered to the mind of man.
In comparison with the length of time thus required to efface the
tiny individual atom, the entire cosmical career of our solar
system, or even that of the whole starry galaxy, shrinks into
utter nothingness. Whether we shall adopt the conclusion
suggested must depend on the extent of our speculative audacity.
We have seen wherein its probability consists, but in reasoning
upon such a scale we may fitly be cautious and modest in
The Unseen World and Other Essays |
