| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Faith of Men by Jack London: was up and raging. He would do the thing with his hands--and his
teeth. Batard sprang in, but Leclere knocked him over with a blow
of the fist, fell upon him, and buried his teeth to the bone in the
dog's shoulder.
It was a primordial setting and a primordial scene, such as might
have been in the savage youth of the world. An open space in a
dark forest, a ring of grinning wolf-dogs, and in the centre two
beasts, locked in combat, snapping and snarling raging madly about
panting, sobbing, cursing, straining, wild with passion, in a fury
of murder, ripping and tearing and clawing in elemental
brutishness.
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Essays & Lectures by Oscar Wilde: theory of the periodic decay of all created things, he urges, be
scientific, it must be universal, and so true of all the other
states as well as of the ideal. Besides, a state usually changes
into its contrary and not to the form next to it; so the ideal
state would not change into Timocracy; while Oligarchy, more often
than Tyranny, succeeds Democracy. Plato, besides, says nothing of
what a Tyranny would change to. According to the cycle theory it
ought to pass into the ideal state again, but as a fact one Tyranny
is changed into another as at Sicyon, or into a Democracy as at
Syracuse, or into an Aristocracy as at Carthage. The example of
Sicily, too, shows that an Oligarchy is often followed by a
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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 Touchstone by Edith Wharton: Armiger's; and before Glennard could speak she had added, with her
hand on the door, "Mr. Flamel stayed so late that I've hardly time
to dress. The concert begins ridiculously early, and Julia dines
at half-past seven--"
Glennard stood alone in the empty room that seemed somehow full of
an ironical consciousness of what was happening. "She hates me,"
he murmured. "She hates me. . . ."
The next day was Sunday, and Glennard purposely lingered late in
his room. When he came downstairs his wife was already seated at
the breakfast-table. She lifted her usual smile to his entrance
and they took shelter in the nearest topic, like wayfarers
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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 Dust by Mr. And Mrs. Haldeman-Julius: understands that you're the one I want suited."
Rose had felt suddenly reassured. Why, she had asked herself
contritely, couldn't she let Martin express his love in his own
way? Why was she always trying to measure his feelings for her by
set standards?
"I've been wondering," he had gone on quickly, "what you would
think of putting up with my old shack while the new house is
being built? It wouldn't be as if you were going to live there
for long and you'd be right on hand to direct things."
"Why, I could do that, of course," she had answered pleasantly.
"If you've lived there all these years, I surely ought to be able
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