| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling: the cave and told him rudely enough that he was wanted at the
Council Rock, he laughed till Tabaqui ran away. Then Mowgli went
to the Council, still laughing.
Akela the Lone Wolf lay by the side of his rock as a sign that
the leadership of the Pack was open, and Shere Khan with his
following of scrap-fed wolves walked to and fro openly being
flattered. Bagheera lay close to Mowgli, and the fire pot was
between Mowgli's knees. When they were all gathered together,
Shere Khan began to speak--a thing he would never have dared to
do when Akela was in his prime.
"He has no right," whispered Bagheera. "Say so. He is a
The Jungle Book |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Caesar's Commentaries in Latin by Julius Caesar: postulatis fore uti pertinacia desisteret. Dies conloquio dictus est ex
eo die quintus. Interim saepe cum legati ultro citroque inter eos
mitterentur, Ariovistus postulavit ne quem peditem ad conloquium Caesar
adduceret: vereri se ne per insidias ab eo circumveniretur; uterque cum
equitatu veniret: alia ratione sese non esse venturum. Caesar, quod
neque conloquium interposita causa tolli volebat neque salutem suam
Gallorum equitatui committere audebat, commodissimum esse statuit omnibus
equis Gallis equitibus detractis eo legionarios milites legionis X., cui
quam maxime confidebat, imponere, ut praesidium quam amicissimum, si quid
opus facto esset, haberet. Quod cum fieret, non inridicule quidam ex
militibus X. legionis dixit: plus quam pollicitus esset Caesarem facere;
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| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Around the World in 80 Days by Jules Verne: of an aisle which conducted to the front and rear platforms.
These platforms were found throughout the train, and the passengers
were able to pass from one end of the train to the other.
It was supplied with saloon cars, balcony cars, restaurants,
and smoking-cars; theatre cars alone were wanting, and they will
have these some day.
Book and news dealers, sellers of edibles, drinkables, and cigars,
who seemed to have plenty of customers, were continually circulating
in the aisles.
The train left Oakland station at six o'clock. It was already night,
cold and cheerless, the heavens being overcast with clouds which seemed
Around the World in 80 Days |
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 Ball at Sceaux by Honore de Balzac: less powerful to the Parisian. In the midst of a garden whence there
are delightful views, stands a large rotunda open on all sides, with a
light, spreading roof supported on elegant pillars. This rural
baldachino shelters a dancing-floor. The most stuck-up landowners of
the neighborhood rarely fail to make an excursion thither once or
twice during the season, arriving at this rustic palace of Terpsichore
either in dashing parties on horseback, or in the light and elegant
carriages which powder the philosophical pedestrian with dust. The
hope of meeting some women of fashion, and of being seen by them--and
the hope, less often disappointed, of seeing young peasant girls, as
wily as judges--crowds the ballroom at Sceaux with numerous swarms of
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