| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Hunting of the Snark by Lewis Carroll: "My poor client's fate now depends on you votes."
Here the speaker sat down in his place,
And directed the Judge to refer to his notes
And briefly to sum up the case.
But the Judge said he never had summed up before;
So the Snark undertook it instead,
And summed it so well that it came to far more
Than the Witnesses ever had said!
When the verdict was called for, the Jury declined,
As the word was so puzzling to spell;
But they ventured to hope that the Snark wouldn't mind
The Hunting of the Snark |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Persuasion by Jane Austen: To consider it as the certain wish of every being who could hope
to influence you! Even if your own feelings were reluctant or indifferent,
to consider what powerful supports would be his! Was it not enough
to make the fool of me which I appeared? How could I look on
without agony? Was not the very sight of the friend who sat behind you,
was not the recollection of what had been, the knowledge of her influence,
the indelible, immoveable impression of what persuasion had once done--
was it not all against me?"
"You should have distinguished," replied Anne. "You should not have
suspected me now; the case is so different, and my age is so different.
If I was wrong in yielding to persuasion once, remember that
Persuasion |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Lin McLean by Owen Wister: that knowed yus and folks that never seen yus in their lives had to have
their word about her facing you down you had another wife, though she
knowed the truth about me being married to Lusk and him livin' the day
you married me, and ten and twenty marriages could not have tied you and
me up, no matter how honest you swore to no hinderance. Folks said it was
plain she did not want yus. It give me a queer feelin' to see that girl.
It give me a wish to tell her to her face that she did not love yus and
did not know love. Wait--wait, Lin! Yu' never hit me yet."
"No," said the cow-puncher. "Nor now. I'm not Lusk."
"Yu' looked so--so bad, Lin. I never seen yu' look so bad in old days.
Wait, now, and I must tell it. I wished to laugh in her face and say,
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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 Pierre Grassou by Honore de Balzac: not yet decorated.) The minister of the Interior ordered two church
pictures of Fougeres.
This Salon of 1829 was to Pierre Grassou his whole fortune, fame,
future, and life. Be original, invent, and you die by inches; copy,
imitate, and you'll live. After this discovery of a gold mine, Grassou
de Fougeres obtained his benefit of the fatal principle to which
society owes the wretched mediocrities to whom are intrusted in these
days the election of leaders in all social classes; who proceed,
naturally, to elect themselves and who wage a bitter war against all
true talent. The principle of election applied indiscriminately is
false, and France will some day abandon it.
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