| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell: opinions of her own.
"How dare you, India?" she questioned in a low voice that shook.
"Where will your jealousy lead you? For shame!"
India's face went white but her head was high.
"I retract nothing," she said briefly. But her mind was seething.
"Jealous, am I?" she thought. With the memory of Stuart Tarleton
and of Honey and Charles, didn't she have good reason to be jealous
of Scarlett? Didn't she have good reason to hate her, especially
now that she had a suspicion that Scarlett had somehow entangled
Ashley in her web? She thought: "There's plenty I could tell you
about Ashley and your precious Scarlett." India was torn between
Gone With the Wind |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from A Journal of the Plague Year by Daniel Defoe: dressed, and looked like a person not used to lie in a garret; and when
he came to the room he fetched a deep sigh, and said to the servant, 'I
have seldom lain in such a lodging as this. 'However, the servant
assuring him again that they had no better, 'Well,' says he, 'I must
make shift; this is a dreadful time; but it is but for one night.' So he sat
down upon the bedside, and bade the maid, I think it was, fetch him
up a pint of warm ale. Accordingly the servant went for the ale, but
some hurry in the house, which perhaps employed her other ways, put
it out of her head, and she went up no more to him.
The next morning, seeing no appearance of the gentleman,
somebody in the house asked the servant that had showed him upstairs
A Journal of the Plague Year |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from The Return of Tarzan by Edgar Rice Burroughs: Monsieur Thuran became a frequent visitor at the home of
Hazel Strong's uncle in Cape Town. His attentions were very
marked, but they were so punctiliously arranged to meet
the girl's every wish that she came to depend upon him more
and more. Did she or her mother or a cousin require an
escort--was there a little friendly service to be rendered,
the genial and ubiquitous Monsieur Thuran was always available.
Her uncle and his family grew to like him for his unfailing
courtesy and willingness to be of service. Monsieur Thuran
was becoming indispensable. At length, feeling the moment
propitious, he proposed. Miss Strong was startled.
The Return of Tarzan |
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 Taras Bulba and Other Tales by Nikolai Vasilievich Gogol: Christianity! Why, then, do we live? What the deuce do we live for?
just tell me that. You are a sensible man, you were not chosen as
Koschevoi without reason: so just tell me what we live for?"
The Koschevoi made no reply to this question. He was an obstinate
Cossack. He was silent for a while, and then said, "Anyway, there will
not be war."
"There will not be war?" Taras asked again.
"No."
"Then it is no use thinking about it?"
"It is not to be thought of."
"Wait, you devil's limb!" said Taras to himself; "you shall learn to
Taras Bulba and Other Tales |
