Today's Stichomancy for Marlon Brando

The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Aeneid by Virgil:

And by a mortal man at length am foil'd. If native pow'r prevail not, shall I doubt To seek for needful succor from without? If Jove and Heav'n my just desires deny, Hell shall the pow'r of Heav'n and Jove supply. Grant that the Fates have firm'd, by their decree, The Trojan race to reign in Italy; At least I can defer the nuptial day, And with protracted wars the peace delay: With blood the dear alliance shall be bought, And both the people near destruction brought;

Aeneid

The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Tanach:

Psalms 35: 4 Let them be ashamed and brought to confusion that seek after my soul; let them be turned back and be abashed that devise my hurt.

Psalms 35: 5 Let them be as chaff before the wind, the angel of the LORD thrusting them.

Psalms 35: 6 Let their way be dark and slippery, the angel of the LORD pursuing them.

Psalms 35: 7 For without cause have they hid for me the pit, even their net, without cause have they digged for my soul.

Psalms 35: 8 Let destruction come upon him unawares; and let his net that he hath hid catch himself; with destruction let him fall therein.

Psalms 35: 9 And my soul shall be joyful in the LORD; it shall rejoice in His salvation.

Psalms 35: 10 All my bones shall say: 'LORD, who is like unto Thee, who deliverest the poor from him that is too strong for him, yea, the poor and the needy from him that spoileth him?'

Psalms 35: 11 Unrighteous witnesses rise up; they ask me of things that I know not.

Psalms 35: 12 They repay me evil for good; bereavement is come to my soul.

Psalms 35: 13 But as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth, I afflicted my soul with fasting; and my prayer, may it return into mine own bosom.

Psalms 35: 14 I went about as though it had been my friend or my brother; I bowed down mournful, as one that mourneth for his mother.

The Tanach

The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe:

the like. During these first hurries I was stupid, lying still in my cabin, which was in the steerage, and cannot describe my temper: I could ill resume the first penitence which I had so apparently trampled upon and hardened myself against: I thought the bitterness of death had been past, and that this would be nothing like the first; but when the master himself came by me, as I said just now, and said we should be all lost, I was dreadfully frighted. I got up out of my cabin and looked out; but such a dismal sight I never saw: the sea ran mountains high, and broke upon us every three or four minutes; when I could look about, I could see nothing but distress round us; two ships that rode near us, we found, had cut

Robinson Crusoe

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 Tess of the d'Urbervilles, A Pure Woman by Thomas Hardy:

have expected it to end like this! Why didn't ye think of doing some good for your family instead o' thinking only of yourself? See how I've got to teave and slave, and your poor weak father with his heart clogged like a dripping-pan. I did hope for something to come out o' this! To see what a pretty pair you and he made that day when you drove away together four months ago! See what he has given us--all, as we thought, because we were his kin. But if he's not, it must have been done because of his love for 'ee. And yet you've not got him to marry!"

Tess of the d'Urbervilles, A Pure Woman