| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Lesser Hippias by Plato: very attentive to what he says; and I ask questions of him, in order that I
may learn, and be improved by him. And I could not help remarking while
you were speaking, that when you recited the verses in which Achilles, as
you argued, attacks Odysseus as a deceiver, that you must be strangely
mistaken, because Odysseus, the man of wiles, is never found to tell a lie;
but Achilles is found to be wily on your own showing. At any rate he
speaks falsely; for first he utters these words, which you just now
repeated,--
'He is hateful to me even as the gates of death who thinks one thing and
says another:'--
And then he says, a little while afterwards, he will not be persuaded by
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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 Light of Western Stars by Zane Grey: embroidered vests, fringed and ornamented chaps, huge swinging
guns, and clinking silver spurs lent a festive appearance.
Madeline and her party were at once eagerly surrounded by the
cowboys, and she found it difficult to repress a smile. If these
cowboys were still remarkable to her, what must they be to her
guests?
"Wal, you-all raced over, I seen," said Stillwell, taking
Madeline's bridle. "Get down--get down. We're sure amazin' glad
an' proud. An', Miss Majesty, I'm offerin' to beg pawdin for the
way the boys are packin' guns. Mebbe it ain't polite. But it's
Stewart's orders."
The Light of Western Stars |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from The Witch, et. al by Anton Chekhov: there is no denying it."
"You have a hard time in this life," said Elena Ivanovna, "but in
the other world you will be happy."
Rodion did not understand her, and simply coughed into his
clenched hand by way of reply. Stepanida said:
"Dear lady, the rich men will be all right in the next world,
too. The rich put up candles, pay for services; the rich give to
beggars, but what can the poor man do? He has no time to make the
sign of the cross. He is the beggar of beggars himself; how can
he think of his soul? And many sins come from poverty; from
trouble we snarl at one another like dogs, we haven't a good word
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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 Awakening & Selected Short Stories by Kate Chopin: gleam of white teeth, while he continued to gaze with narrowing
eyes at the light through his glass of champagne.
"Oh! to be able to paint in color rather than in words!"
exclaimed Miss Mayblunt, losing herself in a rhapsodic dream
as she looked at him,
"`There was a graven image of Desire Painted with red blood on
a ground of gold.'" murmured Gouvernail, under his breath.
The effect of the wine upon Victor was to change his
accustomed volubility into silence. He seemed to have abandoned
himself to a reverie, and to be seeing pleasing visions in the
amber bead.
Awakening & Selected Short Stories |
