| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton: Archer crumpled up the yellow sheet as if the gesture
could annihilate the news it contained. Then he pulled
out a small pocket-diary and turned over the pages
with trembling fingers; but he did not find what he
wanted, and cramming the telegram into his pocket he
mounted the stairs.
A light was shining through the door of the little
hall-room which served Janey as a dressing-room and
boudoir, and her brother rapped impatiently on the
panel. The door opened, and his sister stood before
him in her immemorial purple flannel dressing-gown,
|
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Mansion by Henry van Dyke: half-pleasure
and half-envy. It represented something that he had never known
in his
calculated, orderly life. He was dimly mistrustful of it.
"It is certainly very beautiful," he thought, "but it is
distinctly pagan;
that altar is built to some heathen god. It does not fit into
the scheme of a Christian life. I doubt whether it is consistent
with
the tone of my house. I will sell it this winter. It will bring
three or four times what I paid for it. That was a good
|
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin by Benjamin Franklin: whenever we met, I declin'd the proprietary's proposal that he
and I should discuss the heads of complaint between our two selves,
and refus'd treating with any one but them. They then by his advice
put the paper into the hands of the Attorney and Solicitor-General
for their opinion and counsel upon it, where it lay unanswered
a year wanting eight days, during which time I made frequent demands
of an answer from the proprietaries, but without obtaining any other
than that they had not yet received the opinion of the Attorney
and Solicitor-General. What it was when they did receive it I
never learnt, for they did not communicate it to me, but sent a long
message to the Assembly drawn and signed by Paris, reciting my paper,
The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin |
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 Shakespeare's Sonnets by William Shakespeare: Drink up the monarch's plague, this flattery?
Or whether shall I say, mine eye saith true,
And that your love taught it this alchemy,
To make of monsters and things indigest
Such cherubins as your sweet self resemble,
Creating every bad a perfect best,
As fast as objects to his beams assemble?
O! 'tis the first, 'tis flattery in my seeing,
And my great mind most kingly drinks it up:
Mine eye well knows what with his gust is 'greeing,
And to his palate doth prepare the cup:
|
