| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Resurrection by Leo Tolstoy: The only thing clear to Nekhludoff was that, in spite of what
Wolf had so strenuously insisted on, the day before, i.e., that
the Senate could not try a case on its merits, in this case he
was evidently strongly in favour of repealing the decision of the
Court of Justice, and that Selenin, in spite of his
characteristic reticence, stated the opposite opinion with quite
unexpected warmth. The warmth, which surprised Nekhludoff,
evinced by the usually self-controlled Selenin, was due to his
knowledge of the director's shabbiness in money matters, and the
fact, which had accidentally come to his cars, that Wolf had been
to a swell dinner party at the swindler's house only a few days
Resurrection |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Rape of Lucrece by William Shakespeare: 'If, Collatine, thine honour lay in me,
From me by strong assault it is bereft.
My honey lost, and I, a drone-like bee,
Have no perfection of my summer left,
But robb'd and ransack'd by injurious theft:
In thy weak hive a wandering wasp hath crept,
And suck'd the honey which thy chaste bee kept.
'Yet am I guilty of thy honour's wrack;--
Yet for thy honour did I entertain him;
Coming from thee, I could not put him back,
For it had been dishonour to disdain him:
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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 The Gift of the Magi by O. Henry: and receive gifts, such as they are wisest. Everywhere they
are wisest. They are the magi.
End of this Project Gutenberg Etext of THE GIFT OF THE MAGI.
The Gift of the Magi |
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 Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald: Then the butler, behind his shoulder: "Philadelphia wants you on the
'phone, sir."
"All right, in a minute. Tell them I'll be right there. . . . good
night."
"Good night."
"Good night." He smiled--and suddenly there seemed to be a pleasant
significance in having been among the last to go, as if he had desired
it all the time. "Good night, old sport. . . . good night."
But as I walked down the steps I saw that the evening was not quite over.
Fifty feet from the door a dozen headlights illuminated a bizarre and
tumultuous scene. In the ditch beside the road, right side up, but
The Great Gatsby |
