| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Shakespeare's Sonnets by William Shakespeare: XXXIX
O! how thy worth with manners may I sing,
When thou art all the better part of me?
What can mine own praise to mine own self bring?
And what is't but mine own when I praise thee?
Even for this, let us divided live,
And our dear love lose name of single one,
That by this separation I may give
That due to thee which thou deserv'st alone.
O absence! what a torment wouldst thou prove,
Were it not thy sour leisure gave sweet leave,
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Statesman by Plato: herd, I think that we have only two species left which remain undivided:
and how are we to distinguish them? To geometricians, like you and
Theaetetus, I can have no difficulty in explaining that man is a diameter,
having a power of two feet; and the power of four-legged creatures, being
the double of two feet, is the diameter of our diameter. There is another
excellent jest which I spy in the two remaining species. Men and birds are
both bipeds, and human beings are running a race with the airiest and
freest of creation, in which they are far behind their competitors;--this
is a great joke, and there is a still better in the juxtaposition of the
bird-taker and the king, who may be seen scampering after them. For, as we
remarked in discussing the Sophist, the dialectical method is no respecter
Statesman |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Thuvia, Maid of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs: of considerable knowledge of the act and the whereabouts
of the princess.
In the council chamber of John Carter, Warlord of
Mars, was Tardos Mors, Jeddak of Helium; Mors Kajak,
his son, Jed of Lesser Helium; Carthoris, and a score of
the great nobles of the empire.
"There must be no war between Ptarth and Helium, my son,"
said John Carter. "That you are innocent of the charge
that has been placed against you by insinuation, we well know;
but Thuvan Dihn must know it well, too.
"There is but one who may convince him, and that
Thuvia, Maid of Mars |
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 Gobseck by Honore de Balzac: perfect bazaar of colonial produce. The room itself was crammed with
furniture, and silver-plate, and lamps, and vases, and pictures; there
were books, and curiosities, and fine engravings lying rolled up,
unframed. Perhaps these were not all presents, and some part of this
vast quantity of stuff had been deposited with him in the shape of
pledges, and had been left on his hands in default of payment. I
noticed jewel-cases, with ciphers and armorial bearings stamped upon
them, and sets of fine table-linen, and weapons of price; but none of
the things were docketed. I opened a book which seemed to be
misplaced, and found a thousand-franc note in it. I promised myself
that I would go through everything thoroughly; I would try the
Gobseck |
