| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen: as when I had the honour of making the inquiry before?"
"Yes, quite--more so, indeed."
"More so! Take care, or you will forget to be
tired of it at the proper time. You ought to be tired
at the end of six weeks."
"I do not think I should be tired, if I were to stay
here six months."
"Bath, compared with London, has little variety,
and so everybody finds out every year. 'For six weeks,
I allow Bath is pleasant enough; but beyond that, it is
the most tiresome place in the world.' You would be told
Northanger Abbey |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen: the tone proceeded not from there, but farther off, from out the depths of the
forest.
The sun now set: the atmosphere glowed like fire. It was still in the woods,
so very still; and he fell on his knees, sung his evening hymn, and said: "I
cannot find what I seek; the sun is going down, and night is coming--the dark,
dark night. Yet perhaps I may be able once more to see the round red sun
before he entirely disappears. I will climb up yonder rock."
And he seized hold of the creeping-plants, and the roots of trees--climbed up
the moist stones where the water-snakes were writhing and the toads were
croaking--and he gained the summit before the sun had quite gone down. How
magnificent was the sight from this height! The sea--the great, the glorious
Fairy Tales |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Statesman by Plato: best of all the six, and when lawless is the most bitter and oppressive to
the subject.
YOUNG SOCRATES: True.
STRANGER: The government of the few, which is intermediate between that of
the one and many, is also intermediate in good and evil; but the government
of the many is in every respect weak and unable to do either any great good
or any great evil, when compared with the others, because the offices are
too minutely subdivided and too many hold them. And this therefore is the
worst of all lawful governments, and the best of all lawless ones. If they
are all without the restraints of law, democracy is the form in which to
live is best; if they are well ordered, then this is the last which you
Statesman |
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 Glinda of Oz by L. Frank Baum: fail it will be because the island is raised and
lowered by a magic power none of us is acquainted with.
My idea therefore is to seek -- by such magic as we
possess -- to accomplish our object in another way."
They made the circle of the Dome again in their boat,
and once more saw Ozma and Dorothy through their
windows and exchanged signals with the two imprisoned
girls.
Ozma realized that her friends were doing all in
their power to rescue her and smiled an encouragement
to their efforts. Dorothy seemed a little anxious but
Glinda of Oz |
