| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Aeneid by Virgil: So swelling surges, with a thund'ring roar,
Driv'n on each other's backs, insult the shore,
Bound o'er the rocks, incroach upon the land,
And far upon the beach eject the sand;
Then backward, with a swing, they take their way,
Repuls'd from upper ground, and seek their mother sea;
With equal hurry quit th' invaded shore,
And swallow back the sand and stones they spew'd before.
Twice were the Tuscans masters of the field,
Twice by the Latins, in their turn, repell'd.
Asham'd at length, to the third charge they ran;
Aeneid |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Return of Tarzan by Edgar Rice Burroughs: very quiet affair--only blood relatives.
While I was alone with Mr. Philander the old fellow became
rather confidential. Said Miss Porter had already postponed
the wedding on three different occasions. He confided
that it appeared to him that she was not particularly anxious
to marry Clayton at all; but this time it seems that it is
quite likely to go through.
Of course they all asked after you, but I respected your
wishes in the matter of your true origin, and only spoke to
them of your present affairs.
Miss Porter was especially interested in everything I had
The Return of Tarzan |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from House of Seven Gables by Nathaniel Hawthorne: and never been heard of since--might yet return, and adopt her to
be the comfort of his very extreme and decrepit age, and adorn her
with pearls, diamonds, and Oriental shawls and turbans, and make
her the ultimate heiress of his unreckonable riches. Or the member
of Parliament, now at the head of the English branch of the family,
--with which the elder stock, on this side of the Atlantic, had held
little or no intercourse for the last two centuries,--this eminent
gentleman might invite Hepzibah to quit the ruinous House of the
Seven Gables, and come over to dwell with her kindred at Pyncheon
Hall. But, for reasons the most imperative, she could not yield to
his request. It was more probable, therefore, that the descendants
House of Seven Gables |
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 Koran: amongst those who lingered. Then we destroyed the others; and we
rained down upon them a rain; and evil was the rain of those who
were warned. Verily, in that is a sign; but most of them will never be
believers. And, verily, thy Lord He is mighty, merciful,
compassionate.
The fellows of the Grove called the apostles liars; Sho'haib said to
them, 'Will ye not fear? verily, I am to you a faithful apostle,
then fear God and obey me. I do not ask you for it any hire; my hire
is only with the Lord of the worlds. Give good measure, and be not
of those who diminish; and weigh with a fair balance, and do not cheat
men of their goods; and waste not the land, despoiling it; and fear
The Koran |
