| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Boys' Life of Abraham Lincoln by Helen Nicolay: of field or forest. In pursuit of his knowledge he was on an
up-hill path; yet in spite of all obstacles he worked his way to
so much of an education as placed him far ahead of his
schoolmates and quickly abreast of his various teachers. He
borrowed every book in the neighborhood. The list is a short one:
"Robinson Crusoe," "Aesop's Fables," Bunyan's "Pilgrim's
Progress," Weems's "Life of Washington," and a "History of the
United States." When everything else had been read, he resolutely
began on the "Revised Statutes of Indiana," which Dave Turnham,
the constable, had in daily use, but permitted him to come to his
house and read.
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald: the ceiling, and then rippled over the wine-colored rug, making a
shadow on it as wind does on the sea.
The only completely stationary object in the room was an enormous couch
on which two young women were buoyed up as though upon an anchored
balloon. They were both in white, and their dresses were rippling and
fluttering as if they had just been blown back in after a short flight
around the house. I must have stood for a few moments listening to the
whip and snap of the curtains and the groan of a picture on the wall.
Then there was a boom as Tom Buchanan shut the rear windows and the caught
wind died out about the room, and the curtains and the rugs and the two
young women ballooned slowly to the floor.
The Great Gatsby |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Ten Years Later by Alexandre Dumas: my family," added Buckingham, "you are aware, M. de
Bragelonne, wee die to save our friends."
"I know it well, duke," replied Raoul.
CHAPTER 88
An Account of what the Chevalier de Lorraine thought of Madame
Nothing further interrupted the journey. Under a pretext
that was little remarked, M. de Wardes went forward in
advance of the others. He took Manicamp with him, for his
equable and dreamy disposition acted as a counterpoise to
his own. It is a subject of remark, that quarrelsome and
restless characters invariably seek the companionship of
Ten Years Later |
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 Vicar of Tours by Honore de Balzac: with the pleasures of the town. It took but ten minutes from the
bridge of Tours to reach the house, which was called the "Alouette,"--
a great advantage in a region where no one will put himself out for
anything whatsoever, not even to seek a pleasure.
The Abbe Birotteau had been about ten days at the Alouette, when, one
morning while he was breakfasting, the porter came to say that
Monsieur Caron desired to speak with him. Monsieur Caron was
Mademoiselle Gamard's laywer, and had charge of her affairs.
Birotteau, not remembering this, and unable to think of any matter of
litigation between himself and others, left the table to see the
lawyer in a stage of great agitation. He found him modestly seated on
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