| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The United States Constitution: Section 2. The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army
and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of the several States,
when called into the actual Service of the United States;
he may require the Opinion, in writing, of the principal Officer
in each of the executive Departments, upon any Subject relating to
the Duties of their respective Offices, and he shall have Power
to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offenses against the United States,
except in Cases of impeachment.
He shall have Power, by and with the Advice and Consent of the
Senate, to make Treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators
present concur; and he shall nominate, and by and with the Advice
The United States Constitution |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Vailima Letters by Robert Louis Stevenson: family at breakfast! The Doctor was greatly excited, as may
be supposed, about Lafaele's medicine.
TUESDAY.
All yesterday writing my mail by the hand of Belle, to save
my wrist. This is a great invention, to which I shall stick,
if it can be managed. We had some alarm about Paatalise, but
he slept well all night for a benediction. This lunatic
asylum exercise has no attractions for any of us.
I don't know if I remembered to say how much pleased I was
with ACROSS THE PLAINS in every way, inside and out, and you
and me. The critics seem to taste it, too, as well as could
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| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from The Mysterious Island by Jules Verne: slowly sinking, disappeared beneath the surface of the lake.
But the colonists were yet able to follow its descent through the waves.
The powerful light it gave forth lighted up the translucent water, while
the cavern became gradually obscure. At length this vast effusion of
electric light faded away, and soon after the "Nautilus," now the tomb of
Captain Nemo, reposed in its ocean bed.
Chapter 18
At break of day the colonists regained in silence the entrance of the
cavern, to which they gave the name of "Dakkar Grotto," in memory of
Captain Nemo. It was now low-water, and they passed without difficulty
under the arcade, washed on the right by the sea.
The Mysterious Island |
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 Pupil by Henry James: kidnapping. Morgan wouldn't be taken for a young patrician with a
preceptor - he wasn't smart enough; though he might pass for his
companion's sickly little brother. Now and then he had a five-
franc piece, and except once, when they bought a couple of lovely
neckties, one of which he made Pemberton accept, they laid it out
scientifically in old books. This was sure to be a great day,
always spent on the quays, in a rummage of the dusty boxes that
garnish the parapets. Such occasions helped them to live, for
their books ran low very soon after the beginning of their
acquaintance. Pemberton had a good many in England, but he was
obliged to write to a friend and ask him kindly to get some fellow
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