| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Voyage of the Beagle by Charles Darwin: to the West Indies and to the Chinese and Indian seas,
but not found either on the west coast of America or in the
central Pacific. I may here add, that after the comparison
by Messrs. Cuming and Hinds of about 2000 shells from
the eastern and western coasts of America, only one single
shell was found in common, namely, the Purpura patula,
which inhabits the West Indies, the coast of Panama,
and the Galapagos. We have, therefore, in this quarter
of the world, three great conchological sea-provinces, quite
distinct, though surprisingly near each other, being separated
by long north and south spaces either of land or of
The Voyage of the Beagle |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Trooper Peter Halket of Mashonaland by Olive Schreiner: When Trooper Peter Halket raised himself, he saw the figure of the stranger
passing from him. He cried, "My Master, let me go with you." But the
figure did not turn. And, as it passed into the darkness, it seemed to
Peter Halket that the form grew larger and larger: and as it descended the
further side of the kopje it seemed that for one instant he still saw the
head with a pale, white light upon it: then it vanished.
And Trooper Peter Halket sat alone upon the kopje.
Chapter II.
It was a hot day. The sun poured down its rays over the scattered trees,
and stunted bush, and long grass, and over the dried up river beds. Far in
the blue, so high the eye could scarcely mark them, vultures were flying
|
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from The Life of the Spider by J. Henri Fabre: skilled fingers would fail to achieve? An examination of the nest
will inform us, to a certain extent.
The cotton of the poplar cannot, of itself, supply a hanging pocket
capable of supporting the weight of the brood and resisting the
buffeting of the wind. Rammed, entangled and packed together, the
flocks, similar to those which ordinary wadding would give if
chopped up very fine, would produce only an agglomeration devoid of
cohesion and liable to be dispelled by the first breath of air.
They require a canvas, a warp, to keep them in position.
Tiny dead stalks, with fibrous barks, well softened by the action
of moisture and the air, furnish the Penduline with a coarse tow,
The Life of the Spider |
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 Thus Spake Zarathustra by Friedrich Nietzsche: --Thus spake to each other the two old night-watchmen and light-scarers,
and tooted thereupon sorrowfully on their horns: so did it happen yester-
night at the garden-wall.
To me, however, did the heart writhe with laughter, and was like to break;
it knew not where to go, and sunk into the midriff.
Verily, it will be my death yet--to choke with laughter when I see asses
drunken, and hear night-watchmen thus doubt about God.
Hath the time not LONG since passed for all such doubts? Who may nowadays
awaken such old slumbering, light-shunning things!
With the old Deities hath it long since come to an end:--and verily, a good
joyful Deity-end had they!
Thus Spake Zarathustra |
