| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Maid Marian by Thomas Love Peacock: succeeded by an immediate sense that he had passed the bounds
of legitimate passion; and he sunk immediately from the very
pinnacle of opposition to the level of implicit acquiescence.
The friar's spirits were not to be marred by such a little incident.
He was half-inclined, at first, to return the baron's compliment;
but his love of Matilda checked him; and when the baron held out his hand,
the friar seized it cordially, and they drowned all recollection
of the affair by pledging each other in a cup of canary.
The friar, having stayed long enough to see every thing replaced
on a friendly footing, rose, and moved to take his leave.
Matilda told him he must come again on the morrow, for she
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Democracy In America, Volume 2 by Alexis de Toqueville: must therefore be artificially created, and this can only be
accomplished by associations.
When the members of an aristocratic community adopt a new
opinion, or conceive a new sentiment, they give it a station, as
it were, beside themselves, upon the lofty platform where they
stand; and opinions or sentiments so conspicuous to the eyes of
the multitude are easily introduced into the minds or hearts of
all around. In democratic countries the governing power alone is
naturally in a condition to act in this manner; but it is easy to
see that its action is always inadequate, and often dangerous. A
government can no more be competent to keep alive and to renew
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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 Phaedo by Plato: would agree; would you not?
Undoubtedly, Socrates.
But, O my friend, if this is true, there is great reason to hope that,
going whither I go, when I have come to the end of my journey, I shall
attain that which has been the pursuit of my life. And therefore I go on
my way rejoicing, and not I only, but every other man who believes that his
mind has been made ready and that he is in a manner purified.
Certainly, replied Simmias.
And what is purification but the separation of the soul from the body, as I
was saying before; the habit of the soul gathering and collecting herself
into herself from all sides out of the body; the dwelling in her own place
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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 Fisherman's Luck by Henry van Dyke: measure, and it usually comes pretty close to the mark, at least in
the case of large fish. But it is never safe to record the weight
until the trout is in the canoe. As the Canadian hunters say, "Sell
not the skin of the bear while he carries it."
Now the breeze that blows over Green Island drops away, and the
smoke of the eight smudge-kettles falls like a thick curtain. The
canoes, the dark shores of Norcross Point, the twin peaks of Spencer
Mountain, the dim blue summit of Katahdin, the dazzling sapphire
sky, the flocks of fleece-white clouds shepherded on high by the
western wind, all have vanished. With closed eyes I see another
vision, still framed in smoke,--a vision of yesterday.
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