| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Market-Place by Harold Frederic: must be that--neither more nor less."
"With all the experience of the ages against its coming
out right." She had turned to move toward a chair,
but looked now over her shoulder at him. "Have you ever
seen what seemed to you an absolutely happy marriage
in your life?"
Upon reflection he shook his head. "I don't recall
one on the spur of the minute," he confessed.
"Not the kind, I mean, that you read about in books.
But I've seen plenty where the couple got along together
in a good, easy, comfortable sort of way, without a notion
The Market-Place |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Dunwich Horror by H. P. Lovecraft: such blasphemous outer spheres. Whateley saw how things stood,
and tried to answer lightly.
'Wal, all right, ef ye feel that
way abaout it. Maybe Harvard won't be so fussy as yew be.' And
without saying more he rose and strode out of the building, stooping
at each doorway.
Armitage heard the savage yelping of the great
watchdog, and studied Whateley's gorilla-like lope as he crossed
the bit of campus visible from the window. He thought of the wild
tales he had heard, and recalled the old Sunday stories in the
Advertiser; these things, and the lore he had picked up from Dunwich
The Dunwich Horror |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Before Adam by Jack London: of rock and threw it at him, striking him on the chest.
This emboldened me, and, besides, I was now as angry as
he, and had lost all fear. I ripped fragment of rock
from the wall. The piece must have weighed two or
three pounds. With my strength I slammed it full into
Red-Eye's face. It nearly finished him. He staggered
backward, dropping his stick, and almost fell off the
cliff.
He was a ferocious sight. His face was covered with
blood, and he was snarling and gnashing his fangs like
a wild boar. He wiped the blood from his eyes, caught
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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 Sons of the Soil by Honore de Balzac: at auction. Les Aigues was bought by Montcornet, who had laid by
enough during his campaigns in Spain and Pomerania to make the
purchase, which cost about eleven hundred thousand francs, including
the furniture. The general, no doubt, felt the influence of these
luxurious apartments; and I was arguing with the countess only
yesterday that her marriage was a direct result of the purchase of Les
Aigues.
To rightly understand the countess, my dear Nathan, you must know that
the general is a violent man, red as fire, five feet nine inches tall,
round as a tower, with a thick neck and the shoulders of a blacksmith,
which must have amply filled his cuirass. Montcornet commanded the
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