| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Sylvie and Bruno by Lewis Carroll: thus, at first: but we appeal, as soon as possible, to their innate
sense of Right and Wrong: and, when that stage is safely past,
we appeal to the highest motive of all, the desire for likeness to,
and union with, the Supreme Good. I think you will find that to be the
teaching of the Bible, as a whole, beginning with 'that thy days may be
long in the land,' and ending with 'be ye perfect, even as your Father
which is in heaven is perfect.'"
We were silent for awhile, and then Arthur went off on another tack.
"Look at the literature of Hymns, now. How cankered it is, through and
through, with selfishness! There are few human compositions more
utterly degraded than some modern Hymns!"
Sylvie and Bruno |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Madam How and Lady Why by Charles Kingsley: nothing but fir-trees and heather, a soil fit to feed a great
people; to cultivate in them industry, and science, and valiant
self-dependence and self-help; and to gather round the Heart of
Midlothian and the Castle Rock of Edinburgh the stoutest and the
ablest little nation which Lady Why has made since she made the
Greeks who fought at Salamis.
Of those Greeks you have read, or ought to read, in Mr. Cox's
Tales of the Persian War. Some day you will read of them in their
own books, written in their grand old tongue. Remember that Lady
Why made them, as she has made the Scotch, by first preparing a
country for them, which would call out all their courage and their
|
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from The Forged Coupon by Leo Tolstoy: the moderns, Rousseau, Pascal, Kant, Emerson,
Channing, and many others. Religious and
moral truth is everywhere and always the same. I
have no predilection whatever for Christianity.
If I have been particularly interested in the doc-
trine of Jesus it is, firstly, because I was born in
that religion and have lived among Christians;
secondly, because I have found a great spiritual
joy in freeing the doctrine in its purity from
the astounding falsifications. wrought by the
Churches."
The Forged Coupon |
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 Pellucidar by Edgar Rice Burroughs: should be out in the sunlight once more.
At last all was done. We were ready to embark. I
had no difficulty in getting Raja aboard the dugout;
but Ranee--as we christened her after I had ex-
plained to Dian the meaning of Raja and its feminine
equivalent--positively refused for a time to follow her
mate aboard. In fact, we had to shove off without her.
After a moment, however, she plunged into the water
and swam after us.
I let her come alongside, and then Juag and I pulled
her in, she snapping and snarling at us as we did so;
Pellucidar |
