| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from A Woman of No Importance by Oscar Wilde: MRS. ARBUTHNOT. You made that promise to me once before and broke
it.
LORD ILLINGWORTH. I will keep it now. And that will show you that
I love my son, at least as much as you love him. For when I marry
you, Rachel, there are some ambitions I shall have to surrender.
High ambitions, too, if any ambition is high.
MRS. ARBUTHNOT. I decline to marry you, Lord Illingworth.
LORD ILLINGWORTH. Are you serious?
MRS. ARBUTHNOT. Yes.
LORD ILLINGWORTH. Do tell me your reasons. They would interest me
enormously.
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from On the Origin of Species by Charles Darwin: at the same time along its whole indented length; and we must remember that
almost all strata contain harder layers or nodules, which from long
resisting attrition form a breakwater at the base. Hence, under ordinary
circumstances, I conclude that for a cliff 500 feet in height, a denudation
of one inch per century for the whole length would be an ample allowance.
At this rate, on the above data, the denudation of the Weald must have
required 306,662,400 years; or say three hundred million years.
The action of fresh water on the gently inclined Wealden district, when
upraised, could hardly have been great, but it would somewhat reduce the
above estimate. On the other hand, during oscillations of level, which we
know this area has undergone, the surface may have existed for millions of
On the Origin of Species |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Stories From the Old Attic by Robert Harris: At this point the homeowner put his shovel away and sat down
with his pipe to contemplate these occurrences. Pretty soon a
neighbor from further down the street drove by and saw the man
sitting down enjoying his pipe. "If you weren't so lazy, you'd
shovel some of that gravel off your driveway and back onto the road
where it belongs," the driver sneered as he drove away, spinning his
tires and scattering gravel in every direction.
A Good Horse and a Better
A man once came upon a lad about midday skipping stones across
a pond. "Hello, young man," he said, approaching. "What brings you
here on a school day?"
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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 Misalliance by George Bernard Shaw: nothing else at last. Oh, you cant imagine the fiendish selfishness
of the old people and the maudlin sacrifice of the young. It's more
unbearable than any poverty: more horrible than any
regular-right-down wickedness. Oh, home! home! parents! family! duty!
how I loathe them! How I'd like to see them all blown to bits! The
poor escape. The wicked escape. Well, I cant be poor: we're rolling
in money: it's no use pretending we're not. But I can be wicked; and
I'm quite prepared to be.
LORD SUMMERHAYS. You think that easy?
HYPATIA. Well, isnt it? Being a man, you ought to know.
LORD SUMMERHAYS. It requires some natural talent, which can no doubt
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