| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Pool of Blood in the Pastor's Study by Grace Isabel Colbron and Augusta Groner: corner by the hearth.
There was nothing else spoken of wherever two or three met together
throughout the village except this dreadful, unexplainable thing
that had happened in the rectory. The little village inn was full
to overflowing and the hum of voices within was like the noise of
an excited beehive. Everyone had some new explanation, some new
guess, and it was not until the notary arrived, looking even more
important than usual, that silence fell upon the excited throng.
But the expectations aroused by his coming were not fulfilled. The
notary knew no more than the others although he had been one of the
searchers in the rectory. But he was in no haste to disclose his
|
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The First Men In The Moon by H. G. Wells: When at last things settled themselves in my mind again, it seemed quite
beyond question that the moon was "down" and under my feet, and that the
earth was somewhere away on the level of the horizon - the earth that had
been "down" to me and my kindred since the beginning of things.
So slight were the exertions required of us, so easy did the practical
annihilation of our weight make all we had to do, that the necessity for
taking refreshment did not occur to us for nearly six hours (by Cavor's
chronometer) after our start. I was amazed at that lapse of time. Even
then I was satisfied with very little. Cavor examined the apparatus for
absorbing carbonic acid and water, and pronounced it to be in satisfactory
order, our consumption of oxygen having been extraordinarily slight. And
The First Men In The Moon |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from The Shadow Line by Joseph Conrad: probably like this everywhere--from east to west,
from the bottom to the top of the social scale.
A great discouragement fell on me. A spiritual
drowsiness. Giles' voice was going on compla-
cently; the very voice of the universal hollow
conceit. And I was no longer angry with it.
There was nothing original, nothing new, star-
tling, informing, to expect from the world; no op-
portunities to find out something about oneself,
no wisdom to acquire, no fun to enjoy. Every-
thing was stupid and overrated, even as Captain
The Shadow Line |
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 Essays of Francis Bacon by Francis Bacon: commend, is either superior to you in that you
commend, or inferior. If he be inferior, if he be to
be commended, you much more; if he be superior,
if he be not to be commended, you much less.
Glorious men are the scorn of wise men, the ad-
miration of fools, the idols of parasites, and the
slaves of their own vaunts.
Of Honor
AND REPUTATION
THE winning of honor, is but the revealing of
a man,s virtue and worth, without disadvan-
Essays of Francis Bacon |
