| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Illustrious Gaudissart by Honore de Balzac: knows by their names; as for things, he looks merely at their surface,
and he has his own little tape-line with which to measure them. His
glance shoots over all things and penetrates none. He occupies himself
with a great deal, yet nothing occupies him.
Jester and jolly fellow, he keeps on good terms with all political
opinions, and is patriotic to the bottom of his soul. A capital mimic,
he knows how to put on, turn and turn about, the smiles of persuasion,
satisfaction, and good-nature, or drop them for the normal expression
of his natural man. He is compelled to be an observer of a certain
sort in the interests of his trade. He must probe men with a glance
and guess their habits, wants, and above all their solvency. To
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Alexandria and her Schools by Charles Kingsley: once a great idea, instinctive, inductive (for the two expressions are
nearer akin than most fancy), has dawned on his soul, he will welcome
lovingly, awfully, any corroboration from foreign schools, and cry with
joy: "Behold, this is not altogether a dream: for others have found it
also. Surely it must be real, universal, eternal." No; be sure there
is far more originality (in the common sense of the word), and far less
(in the true sense of the word), than we fancy; and that it is a paltry
and shallow doctrine which represents each succeeding school as merely
the puppets and dupes of the preceding. More originality, because each
earnest man seems to think out for himself the deepest grounds of his
creed. Less originality, because, as I believe, one common Logos, Word,
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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 Marvelous Land of Oz by L. Frank Baum: "We five," corrected the Pumpkinhead.
"Five?" repeated the Tin Woodman.
"Yes; the Saw-Horse is brave and fearless," answered Jack, forgetting his
recent quarrel with the quadruped.
The Tin Woodman looked around him in a puzzled way, for the Saw-Horse had
until now remained quietly standing in a corner, where the Emperor had not
noticed him. Tip immediately called the odd-looking creature to them, and it
approached so awkwardly that it nearly upset the beautiful center-table and
the engraved oil-can.
"I begin to think," remarked the Tin Woodman as he looked earnestly at the
Saw-Horse, "that wonders will never cease! How came this creature alive?"
The Marvelous Land of Oz |
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 The Devil's Dictionary by Ambrose Bierce: balance between animal and vegetable life, the Egyptians made their
once fertile and populous country barren and incapable of supporting
more than a meagre crew. The modern metallic burial casket is a step
in the same direction, and many a dead man who ought now to be
ornamenting his neighbor's lawn as a tree, or enriching his table as a
bunch of radishes, is doomed to a long inutility. We shall get him
after awhile if we are spared, but in the meantime the violet and rose
are languishing for a nibble at his _glutoeus maximus_.
EMOTION, n. A prostrating disease caused by a determination of the
heart to the head. It is sometimes accompanied by a copious discharge
of hydrated chloride of sodium from the eyes.
The Devil's Dictionary |
