| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Vision Splendid by William MacLeod Raine: shadowy smile bubbling into laughter, the gracious undulations of
the body, indeed the whole dear delight of her presence, belonged
for that hour to him alone.
CHAPTER 21
Many a man has kept his self-respect through a long lifetime of
decalog breaking, only to go to smash like a crushed eggshell when
he commits the crime of being found out.
--From the Note Book of a Dreamer.
THE HERO IS PAINED TO FIND THAT EVEN IN A WELL-REGULATED WORLD THE
GODS ARE JUST, AND OF OUR PLEASANT VICES MAKE INSTRUMENTS TO
PLAGUE US
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Oedipus Trilogy by Sophocles: prospered under his rule, but again a grievous plague fell upon the
city. Again the oracle was consulted and it bade them purge
themselves of blood-guiltiness. Oedipus denounces the crime of which
he is unaware, and undertakes to track out the criminal. Step by
step it is brought home to him that he is the man. The closing scene
reveals Jocasta slain by her own hand and Oedipus blinded by his own
act and praying for death or exile.
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DRAMATIS PERSONAE
Oedipus.
The Priest of Zeus.
Oedipus Trilogy |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Egmont by Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe: without thee, would be a prey to want. Be to her what I can no longer be,
live together, and weep for me. Weep for our fatherland, and for him who
could alone have upheld it. The present generation must still endure this
bitter woe; vengeance itself could not obliterate it. Poor souls, live on,
through this gap in time, which is time no longer. To-day the world
suddenly stands still, its course is arrested, and my pulse will beat but for a
few minutes longer. Farewell.
Brackenburg. Oh, live with us, as we live only for thy sake! In taking thine
own life, thou wilt take ours also; still live and suffer. We will stand by
thee, nothing shall sever us from thy side, and love, with ever-watchful
solicitude, shall prepare for thee the sweetest consolation in its loving
Egmont |
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 Wheels of Chance by H. G. Wells: She spoke in a low voice, almost a whisper.
"Why--Have you seen a young lady in a grey bicycling costume?"
Dangle caught at his lower lip. "What's that?" he said.
"Yesterday! A man asking after her then! What can THAT mean?"
"Heaven knows," said Phipps, sitting down wearily. "You'd better
infer."
"What kind of man?" said Dangle.
"How should I know?--in bicycling costume, the fellow said."
"But what height?--What complexion?"
"Didn't ask," said Phipps. "DIDN'T ASK! Nonsense," said Dangle.
"Ask him yourself," said Phipps. "He's an ostler chap in the
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