| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Egmont by Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe: governed according to hereditary laws, rights, and usages; how our
ancestors paid due honour to their sovereign so long as he governed them
equitably; and how they were immediately on their guard the moment he
was for overstepping his bounds. The states were down upon him at once;
for every province, however small, had its own chamber and
representatives.
Carpenter. Hold your tongue! We knew that long ago! Every honest
citizen learns as much about the constitution as he needs.
Jetter. Let him speak; one may always learn something.
Soest. He is quite right.
Several Citizens. Go on! Go on! One does not hear this every day.
Egmont |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from King James Bible: your God:
SA1 12:15 But if ye will not obey the voice of the LORD, but rebel
against the commandment of the LORD, then shall the hand of the LORD be
against you, as it was against your fathers.
SA1 12:16 Now therefore stand and see this great thing, which the LORD
will do before your eyes.
SA1 12:17 Is it not wheat harvest to day? I will call unto the LORD,
and he shall send thunder and rain; that ye may perceive and see that
your wickedness is great, which ye have done in the sight of the LORD,
in asking you a king.
SA1 12:18 So Samuel called unto the LORD; and the LORD sent thunder and
King James Bible |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from The Ruling Passion by Henry van Dyke: tent half hidden among the birches and balsams. Down the river, the
main channel narrowed and deepened. High banks hemmed it in on the
left, iron-coasted islands on the right. It was a sullen, powerful,
dangerous stream. Beyond that, in mid-river, the Ile Maligne reared
its wicked head, scarred, bristling with skeletons of dead trees.
On either side of it, the river broke away into a long fury of
rapids and falls in which no boat could live.
It was there, on the point of the island, that the most famous
fishing in the river was found; and there Alden was determined to
cast his fly before he went home. Ten days they had waited at the
Cedars for the water to fall enough to make the passage to the
|
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 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle: vizard mask, which he had apparently adjusted that very moment,
for his hand was still raised to it as he entered. From the lower
part of the face he appeared to be a man of strong character,
with a thick, hanging lip, and a long, straight chin suggestive
of resolution pushed to the length of obstinacy.
"You had my note?" he asked with a deep harsh voice and a
strongly marked German accent. "I told you that I would call." He
looked from one to the other of us, as if uncertain which to
address.
"Pray take a seat," said Holmes. "This is my friend and
colleague, Dr. Watson, who is occasionally good enough to help me
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes |
