| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Caesar's Commentaries in Latin by Julius Caesar: sed etiam inscientibus ipsis fecisset, quod a magistratu Haeduorum
accusaretur, satis esse causae arbitrabatur quare in eum aut ipse
animadverteret aut civitatem animadvertere iuberet. His omnibus rebus
unum repugnabat, quod Diviciaci fratris summum in populum Romanum studium,
summum in se voluntatem, egregiam fidem, iustitiam, temperantiam
cognoverat; nam ne eius supplicio Diviciaci animum offenderet verebatur.
Itaque prius quam quicquam conaretur, Diviciacum ad se vocari iubet et,
cotidianis interpretibus remotis, per C. Valerium Troucillum, principem
Galliae provinciae, familiarem suum, cui summam omnium rerum fidem
habebat, cum eo conloquitur; simul commonefacit quae ipso praesente in
concilio [Gallorum] de Dumnorige sint dicta, et ostendit quae separatim
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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 Black Arrow by Robert Louis Stevenson: nor did they dare to speak until they had returned to their old
ambush in the gorse.
"Now, John Capper," said Dick, "back with you to Shoreby, even as
for your life. Bring me instantly what men ye can collect. Here
shall be the rendezvous; or if the men be scattered and the day be
near at hand before they muster, let the place be something farther
back, and by the entering in of the town. Greensheve and I lie
here to watch. Speed ye, John Capper, and the saints aid you to
despatch. And now, Greensheve," he continued, as soon as Capper
had departed, "let thou and I go round about the garden in a wide
circuit. I would fain see whether thine eyes betrayed thee."
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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 One Basket by Edna Ferber: Calumet. So he rented an apartment, many-roomed and expensive,
with a manservant in charge, and furnished it in styles and
periods ranging through all the Louis. The living room was
mostly rose color. It was like an unhealthy and bloated boudoir.
And yet there was nothing sybaritic or uncleanly in the sight of
this paunchy, middle-aged man sinking into the rosy-cushioned
luxury of his ridiculous home. It was a frank and naive
indulgence of long-starved senses, and there was in it a great
resemblance to the rolling-eyed ecstasy of a schoolboy smacking
his lips over an all-day sucker.
The war went on, and on, and on. And the money continued to roll
One Basket |
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 Manon Lescaut by Abbe Prevost: tortured me, with the following most horrible narration.
"He began by asking me whether I was really simple enough to
believe that I had been really loved by the girl. I told him
confidently that I was perfectly sure of it, and that nothing
could make me for a moment doubt it. `Ha, ha, ha!' said he, with
a loud laugh; `that is excellent! you are a pretty dupe!
Admirable idea! 'Twould be a thousand pities, my poor chevalier,
to make you a Knight of Malta, with all the requisites you
possess for a patient and accommodating husband.' He continued
in the same tone to ridicule what he was pleased to call my
dullness and credulity.
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