| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Prince by Nicolo Machiavelli: Church might not be friendly to him and might seek to take from him
that which Alexander had given him, so he decided to act in four ways.
Firstly, by exterminating the families of those lords whom he had
despoiled, so as to take away that pretext from the Pope. Secondly, by
winning to himself all the gentlemen of Rome, so as to be able to curb
the Pope with their aid, as has been observed. Thirdly, by converting
the college more to himself. Fourthly, by acquiring so much power
before the Pope should die that he could by his own measures resist
the first shock. Of these four things, at the death of Alexander, he
had accomplished three. For he had killed as many of the dispossessed
lords as he could lay hands on, and few had escaped; he had won over
The Prince |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Rezanov by Gertrude Atherton: an imperious gesture to Ignacio Sal. He sprang to
her side, took her hand, and once more there was
the same monotonous tapping of toes and heels.
Then they whirled apart, bent their lithe backs until
their brows almost touched the floor in a salute of
mock admiration, and danced to and from each
other, coquetry in the very tilt of her eyebrows, the
bare semblance of masculine indulgence on his eager,
passionate face. Suddenly to the surprise of all, she
snapped her fingers directly under his nose, waved
her hand, turned her back, and made a peremptory
Rezanov |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from O Pioneers! by Willa Cather: and excitement. "Where do you suppose she
can be, Ivar?"
The old man lifted a set of single harness
carefully from its peg. "How should I know?"
"But you think she is at the graveyard,
don't you?" Signa persisted. "So do I. Oh, I
wish she would be more like herself! I can't
believe it's Alexandra Bergson come to this,
with no head about anything. I have to tell her
O Pioneers! |
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 What is Man? by Mark Twain: If I were now imprisoned on a mountain summit a hundred
miles northward of this point, and was denied a timepiece, I
could get along well enough from four till six on clear days, for
I could keep trace of the time by the changing shapes of these
mighty shadows of the Virgin's front, the most stupendous dial I
am acquainted with, the oldest clock in the world by a couple of
million years.
I suppose I should not have noticed the forms of the shadows
if I hadn't the habit of hunting for faces in the clouds and in
mountain crags--a sort of amusement which is very entertaining
even when you don't find any, and brilliantly satisfying when you
What is Man? |
