| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Thus Spake Zarathustra by Friedrich Nietzsche: And when I spake unto all, I spake unto none. In the evening, however,
rope-dancers were my companions, and corpses; and I myself almost a corpse.
With the new morning, however, there came unto me a new truth: then did I
learn to say: "Of what account to me are market-place and populace and
populace-noise and long populace-ears!"
Ye higher men, learn THIS from me: On the market-place no one believeth in
higher men. But if ye will speak there, very well! The populace, however,
blinketh: "We are all equal."
"Ye higher men,"--so blinketh the populace--"there are no higher men, we
are all equal; man is man, before God--we are all equal!"
Before God!--Now, however, this God hath died. Before the populace,
Thus Spake Zarathustra |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from An Ideal Husband by Oscar Wilde: perfect sang froid.]
MABEL CHILTERN. What are you doing?
LORD GORING. Miss Mabel, I am going to make a rather strange request
to you.
MABEL CHILTERN. [Eagerly.] Oh, pray do! I have been waiting for it
all the evening.
LORD GORING. [Is a little taken aback, but recovers himself.] Don't
mention to anybody that I have taken charge of this brooch. Should
any one write and claim it, let me know at once.
MABEL CHILTERN. That is a strange request.
LORD GORING. Well, you see I gave this brooch to somebody once,
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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 The Forged Coupon by Leo Tolstoy: "I thought you had some sense in you; but
what's this you've taken into your head?" his
father began.
"I? Nothing."
"How, nothing? They tell me you want to
get married. You shall get married when the time
comes. I'll find you a decent wife, not some town
hussy."
His father talked and talked, while Alyosha
stood still and sighed. When his father had quite
finished, Alyosha smiled.
The Forged Coupon |
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 Letters of Robert Louis Stevenson by Robert Louis Stevenson: of this now; the next thing is they will tell me I am writing
myself out! and that my unconscientious conduct is bringing their
grey hairs with sorrow to the dust. I do not know - I mean I do
know one thing. For fourteen years I have not had a day's real
health; I have wakened sick and gone to bed weary; and I have done
my work unflinchingly. I have written in bed, and written out of
it, written in hemorrhages, written in sickness, written torn by
coughing, written when my head swam for weakness; and for so long,
it seems to me I have won my wager and recovered my glove. I am
better now, have been rightly speaking since first I came to the
Pacific; and still, few are the days when I am not in some physical
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