The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Baby Mine by Margaret Mayo: lamp; instantly the large white pillows were bathed in a warm
pink glow--she studied the effect very carefully, then added a
lingerie pillow to the two more formal ones, kicked off her
slippers and hopped into bed. One more glance at the pillows,
then she arranged the ribbons of her negligee to fall
"carelessly" outside the coverlet, threw one arm gracefully above
her head, half-closed her eyes, and sank languidly back against
her pillows.
"How's that?" she breathed faintly.
Controlling her impulse to smile, Aggie crossed to the
dressing-table with a business-like air and applied to Zoie's
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from This Side of Paradise by F. Scott Fitzgerald: strained in the wind. Amory looked long at one house which bore
the legend "Sixty-nine." There a few gray-haired men sat and
talked quietly while the classes swept by in panorama of life.
UNDER THE ARC-LIGHT
Then tragedy's emerald eyes glared suddenly at Amory over the
edge of June. On the night after his ride to Lawrenceville a
crowd sallied to New York in quest of adventure, and started back
to Princeton about twelve o'clock in two machines. It had been a
gay party and different stages of sobriety were represented.
Amory was in the car behind; they had taken the wrong road and
lost the way, and so were hurrying to catch up.
 This Side of Paradise |
The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from The Yates Pride by Mary E. Wilkins Freeman: carriage. "I have plenty of money. We could do anything we
wanted to do for him, and we should not have to live alone. Say,
Eudora, you may not think it's the thing for a man to own up to,
but, hang it all! I'm alone, and I don't want to face the rest of
my life alone. Eudora, do you think you could make up your mind
to marry me, after all?"
They had reached the turn in the road. Just beyond rose the
stately pile of the old Yates mansion. Eudora stood still and
gave one desperate look at her lover. "I will let you know
Thursday," she gasped. Then she was gone, trundling the baby-
carriage with incredible speed.
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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 The Psychology of Revolution by Gustave le Bon: was the real hero of the French Revolution? Yes--provided we see
the French people not as a multitude but as a number of organised
groups.''
And in a recent work M. A. Cochin insists on this conception of
popular action.
``And here is the wonder: Michelet is right. In proportion as
we know them better the facts seem to consecrate the fiction:
this crowd, without chiefs and without laws, the very image of
chaos, did for five years govern and command, speak and act, with
a precision, a consistency, and an entirety that were
marvellous. Anarchy gave lessons in order and discipline to the
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