| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Sylvie and Bruno by Lewis Carroll: ("Don't talk no more!" growled the man under the window.
"You're making a mess of it!") At this moment the Sub-Warden entered
the saloon. He was a thin man, with a mean and crafty face, and a
greenish-yellow complexion; and he crossed the room very slowly,
looking suspiciously about him as if be thought there might be a
savage dog hidden somewhere. "Bravo!" he cried, patting the Chancellor
on the back. "You did that speech very well indeed.
Why, you're a born orator, man!"
"Oh, that's nothing! the Chancellor replied, modestly, with downcast
eyes. "Most orators are born, you know."
The Sub-Warden thoughtfully rubbed his chin. "Why, so they are!" he
Sylvie and Bruno |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Mother by Owen Wister: about my income."
"I didn't care! I'd have"--but Mr. Field checked her outburst.
"She was going to say," said Mr. Field, "that had I asked her to marry me
when I became sure that I wished to marry her, she would have been
willing to leave New York and go to the waste land in Michigan that was
her inheritance from a grandfather, and there build a cabin and live in
it with me; and that while I shot prairie chickens for dinner she would
have milked the cow which some member of the family would have been
willing to give us as a wedding present instead of a statue of the Winged
Victory, or silver spoons and forks, had we so desired."
Richard made a pause here, and looked at his wife as if he expected her
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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 Tin Woodman of Oz by L. Frank Baum: became the unusual creature you see beside you. Twenty
legs! Twenty on one man! You may count them, if you
doubt my word."
"You've got 'em, all right," said Woot the Monkey,
who had already counted them.
"After I had delivered the magic medicine to the old
woman, I returned and tried to find the witch, or
fairy, or whatever she was, who had given me the
unlucky wish, so she could take it away again. I've
been searching for her ever since, but never can I find
her," continued poor Tommy Kwikstep, sadly "I suppose,
The Tin Woodman of Oz |
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 Reason Discourse by Rene Descartes: luminous; and finally on man, since he is the spectator of these objects.
Further, to enable me to cast this variety of subjects somewhat into the
shade, and to express my judgment regarding them with greater freedom,
without being necessitated to adopt or refute the opinions of the learned,
I resolved to leave all the people here to their disputes, and to speak
only of what would happen in a new world, if God were now to create
somewhere in the imaginary spaces matter sufficient to compose one, and
were to agitate variously and confusedly the different parts of this
matter, so that there resulted a chaos as disordered as the poets ever
feigned, and after that did nothing more than lend his ordinary
concurrence to nature, and allow her to act in accordance with the laws
Reason Discourse |
