| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas: "Proceed," said the president.
"Certainly, I might have lived happily amongst those good
people, who adored me, but my perverse disposition prevailed
over the virtues which my adopted mother endeavored to
instil into my heart. I increased in wickedness till I
committed crime. One day when I cursed providence for making
me so wicked, and ordaining me to such a fate, my adopted
father said to me, `Do not blaspheme, unhappy child, the
crime is that of your father, not yours, -- of your father,
who consigned you to hell if you died, and to misery if a
miracle preserved you alive.' After that I ceased to
The Count of Monte Cristo |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Night and Day by Virginia Woolf: sentence was not finished, for the door opened, and they were
interrupted by Henry's younger brother Gilbert, much to Henry's
relief, for he had already said more than he liked.
CHAPTER XVII
When the sun shone, as it did with unusual brightness that Christmas
week, it revealed much that was faded and not altogether well-kept-up
in Stogdon House and its grounds. In truth, Sir Francis had retired
from service under the Government of India with a pension that was not
adequate, in his opinion, to his services, as it certainly was not
adequate to his ambitions. His career had not come up to his
expectations, and although he was a very fine, white-whiskered,
|
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from The Man against the Sky by Edwin Arlington Robinson: Mr. Robinson's new play, "The Porcupine", recalls some of the work of Ibsen.
Written adroitly and with the literary cleverness exhibited in "Van Zorn",
it tells a story of a domestic entanglement in a dramatic fashion
well calculated to hold the reader's attention.
"Contains all of the qualities that are said to be conspicuously lacking
in American Drama." -- ~N. Y. Evening Sun~.
Van Zorn: A Comedy in Three Acts
~Cloth, 12mo, $1.25~
Mr. Robinson is known as the leader of present-day American poets.
In this delightful play he tells with a biting humor
the story of the salvation of a soul. By clever arrangement of incident
|
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 The Golden Sayings of Epictetus by Epictetus: speaking good of my Commander, and praising His acts. For at His
good pleasure I came; and I depart when it pleases Him; and while
I was yet alive that was my work, to sing praises unto God!
CXXXV
Reflect that the chief source of all evils to Man, and of
baseness and cowardice, is not death, but the fear of death.
Against this fear then, I pray you, harden yourself; to this
let all your reasonings, your exercises, your reading tend. Then
shall you know that thus alone are men set free.
CXXXVI
He is free who lives as he wishes to live; to whom none can
The Golden Sayings of Epictetus |
