| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Democracy In America, Volume 1 by Alexis de Toqueville: uniformity of opinions. *b In Connecticut, at this period, all
the executive functionaries were elected, including the Governor
of the State. *c The citizens above the age of sixteen were
obliged to bear arms; they formed a national militia, which
appointed its own officers, and was to hold itself at all times
in readiness to march for the defence of the country. *d
[Footnote a: Constitution of 1638, p. 17.]
[Footnote b: In 1641 the General Assembly of Rhode Island
unanimously declared that the government of the State was a
democracy, and that the power was vested in the body of free
citizens, who alone had the right to make the laws and to watch
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Westward Ho! by Charles Kingsley: her bosom swelling, her stature seeming to grow taller every
moment, as she clenched her weapons firmly in both her hands.
Beautiful as she always was, she had never looked so beautiful
before; and as Amyas spoke of parting with her, it was like
throwing away a lovely toy; but it must be done, for her sake, for
his, perhaps for that of all the crew.
The last words had hardly passed his lips, when, with a shriek of
mingled scorn, rage, and fear, she dashed through the astonished
group.
"Stop her!" were Amyas's first words; but his next were, "Let her
go!" for, springing like a deer through the little garden and over
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| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Rivers to the Sea by Sara Teasdale: They are all fulfilled in you.
I am the pool of gold
When sunset burns and dies,--
You are my deepening skies,
Give me your stars to hold.
APRIL
THE roofs are shining from the rain,
The sparrows twitter as they fly,
And with a windy April grace
The little clouds go by.
Yet the back-yards are bare and brown
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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 Walking by Henry David Thoreau: though I have heard of one unnatural farmer who kept his cow in
the barn and fed her on hay all the year round. So, frequently,
the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge treats its
cattle.
A man's ignorance sometimes is not only useful, but
beautiful--while his knowledge, so called, is oftentimes worse
than useless, besides being ugly. Which is the best man to deal
with--he who knows nothing about a subject, and, what is
extremely rare, knows that he knows nothing, or he who really
knows something about it, but thinks that he knows all?
My desire for knowledge is intermittent, but my desire to bathe
Walking |
