| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Son of Tarzan by Edgar Rice Burroughs: "A week since there came to me in Paris a swarthy Arab, who called
himself Abdul Kamak. He said that he had found my daughter and
could lead me to her. I took him at once to Admiral d'Arnot,
whom I knew had traveled some in Central Africa. The man's story
led the Admiral to believe that the place where the white girl
the Arab supposed to be my daughter was held in captivity was not
far from your African estates, and he advised that I come at once
and call upon you--that you would know if such a girl were in
your neighborhood."
"What proof did the Arab bring that she was your daughter?"
asked Lord Greystoke.
The Son of Tarzan |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Devil's Dictionary by Ambrose Bierce: word "sincere" is derived from _sine cero_, without wax, but the
learned are not in agreement as to whether this refers to the absence
of the cabalistic signs, or to that of the wax with which letters were
formerly closed from public scrutiny. Either view of the matter will
serve one in immediate need of an hypothesis. The initials L.S.,
commonly appended to signatures of legal documents, mean _locum
sigillis_, the place of the seal, although the seal is no longer used
-- an admirable example of conservatism distinguishing Man from the
beasts that perish. The words _locum sigillis_ are humbly suggested
as a suitable motto for the Pribyloff Islands whenever they shall take
their place as a sovereign State of the American Union.
The Devil's Dictionary |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from A Drama on the Seashore by Honore de Balzac: measuring the future. When their will is equal to the breadth of the
angle at which they open it the world is theirs. But this phenomenon
of the inner life takes place only at a certain age. That age, which
for all men lies between twenty-two and twenty-eight, is the period of
great thoughts, of fresh conceptions, because it is the age of immense
desires. After that age, short as the seed-time, comes that of
execution. There are, as it were, two youths,--the youth of belief,
the youth of action; these are often commingled in men whom Nature has
favored and who, like Caesar, like Newton, like Bonaparte, are the
greatest among great men.
I was measuring how long a time it might take a thought to develop.
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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 An International Episode by Henry James: Beaumont expounded. "But our friend mentioned a young lady--a sister,
a sister-in-law. For God's sake, don't get entangled with her!"
"How do you mean entangled?"
"Depend upon it she will try to hook you."
"Oh, bother!" said Lord Lambeth.
"American girls are very clever," urged his companion.
"So much the better," the young man declared.
"I fancy they are always up to some game of that sort," Beaumont continued.
"They can't be worse than they are in England," said Lord Lambeth judicially.
"Ah, but in England," replied Beaumont, "you have got your
natural protectors. You have got your mother and sisters."
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