| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Tristram Shandy by Laurence Sterne: connoisseurs, prelates, popes, and engineers.--Don't fear, said I--I'll not
hurt the poorest jack-ass upon the king's highway.--But your horse throws
dirt; see you've splash'd a bishop--I hope in God, 'twas only Ernulphus,
said I.--But you have squirted full in the faces of Mess. Le Moyne, De
Romigny, and De Marcilly, doctors of the Sorbonne.--That was last year,
replied I.--But you have trod this moment upon a king.--Kings have bad
times on't, said I, to be trod upon by such people as me.
You have done it, replied my accuser.
I deny it, quoth I, and so have got off, and here am I standing with my
bridle in one hand, and with my cap in the other, to tell my story.--And
what in it? You shall hear in the next chapter.
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Gentle Grafter by O. Henry: "'That,' says he, 'is the domicile and the arboreal, terrestrial and
horticultural accessories of Farmer Ezra Plunkett, one of our
country's most progressive citizens.'
"After breakfast me and Andy, with eight cents capital left, casts the
horoscope of the rural potentate.
"'Let me go alone,' says I. 'Two of us against one farmer would look
as one-sided as Roosevelt using both hands to kill a grizzly.'
"'All right,' says Andy. 'I like to be a true sport even when I'm only
collecting rebates from the rutabag raisers. What bait are you going
to use for this Ezra thing?' Andy asks me.
"'Oh,' I says, 'the first thing that come to hand in the suit case. I
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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 Ball at Sceaux by Honore de Balzac: Mademoiselle de Fontaine with the respect without which there is no
true love.
When she was left alone in the drawing-room with her father, the old
man went up to her affectionately, held her hands, and asked her
whether she had gained any light at to Monsieur Longueville's family
and fortune.
"Yes, my dear father," she replied, "and I am happier than I could
have hoped. In short, Monsieur de Longueville is the only man I could
ever marry."
"Very well, Emilie," said the Count, "then I know what remains for me
to do."
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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 My Bondage and My Freedom by Frederick Douglass: announcement, simply as an easy and comfortable method of
shipping me off to the far south. There was a little scandal,
too, connected with the idea of one Christian selling another to
the Georgia traders, while it was deemed every way proper for
them to sell to others. I thought this friend in Alabama was an
invention, to meet this difficulty, for Master Thomas was quite
jealous of his Christian reputation, however unconcerned he might
be about his real Christian character. In these remarks,
however, it is possible that I do Master Thomas Auld injustice.
He certainly did not exhaust his power upon me, in the case, but
acted, upon the whole, very generously, considering the nature of
My Bondage and My Freedom |
