| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from War and the Future by H. G. Wells: rational elements in the belligerent centres, among the other
neutrals and in America, that will co-operate in enabling the
United States to play that role of the Unimpassioned Third
Party, which becomes more and more necessary to a generally
satisfactory ending of the war.
4
The idea that the settlement of this war must be what one might
call an unimpassioned settlement or, if you will, a scientific
settlement or a judicial and not a treaty settlement, a
settlement, that is, based upon some conception of what is right
and necessary rather than upon the relative success or failure of
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Lemorne Versus Huell by Elizabeth Drew Stoddard: and disturbed. But if we were engaged for a tournament, as his
behavior indicated, I must do my best at telling. So I told him
that he never looked better, and asked him how I looked. He would
look at me presently, he said, and decide. Mrs. Bliss skimmed by us
with nods and smiles; as she vanished our eyes followed her, and we
talked vaguely on various matters, sounding ourselves and each
other. When a furious redowa set in which cut our conversation into
rhythm he pushed up the window and said, "Look out."
I turned my face to him to do so, and saw the moon at the full,
riding through the strip of sky which our vision commanded. From
the moon our eyes fell on each other. After a moment's silence,
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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 Betty Zane by Zane Grey: death's door because he had resented an insult to her. The past with all its
bitterness rolled away and was lost, and in its place welled up a tide of
forgiveness strong and sweet and hopeful. Her love, like a fire that had been
choked and smothered, smouldering but never extinct, and which blazes up with
the first breeze, warmed and quickened to life with the touch of her hand on
his forehead.
An hour passed. Betty was now at her ease and happier than she had been for
months. Her patient continued to sleep peacefully and dreamlessly. With a
feeling of womanly curiosity Betty looked around the room. Over the rude
mantelpiece were hung a sword, a brace of pistols, and two pictures. These
last interested Betty very much. They were portraits; one of them was a
Betty Zane |
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 Gorgias by Plato: satisfy all his longings. And this I affirm to be natural justice and
nobility. To this however the many cannot attain; and they blame the
strong man because they are ashamed of their own weakness, which they
desire to conceal, and hence they say that intemperance is base. As I have
remarked already, they enslave the nobler natures, and being unable to
satisfy their pleasures, they praise temperance and justice out of their
own cowardice. For if a man had been originally the son of a king, or had
a nature capable of acquiring an empire or a tyranny or sovereignty, what
could be more truly base or evil than temperance--to a man like him, I say,
who might freely be enjoying every good, and has no one to stand in his
way, and yet has admitted custom and reason and the opinion of other men to
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