| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Captain Stormfield by Mark Twain: microscope and went back. It turned out better than he feared. He
had rousted out our system, sure enough. He got me to describe our
planet and its distance from the sun, and then he says to his chief
-
"Oh, I know the one he means, now, sir. It is on the map. It is
called the Wart."
Says I to myself, "Young man, it wouldn't be wholesome for you to
go down THERE and call it the Wart."
Well, they let me in, then, and told me I was safe forever and
wouldn't have any more trouble.
Then they turned from me and went on with their work, the same as
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Life on the Mississippi by Mark Twain: but not very powerful ones.
After this excursion into history, he came back to the scenery,
and described it, detail by detail, from the Thousand Islands
to St. Paul; naming its names with such facility, tripping along
his theme with such nimble and confident ease, slamming in a
three-ton word, here and there, with such a complacent air of 't
isn't-anything,-I-can-do-it-any-time-I-want-to, and letting off
fine surprises of lurid eloquence at such judicious intervals,
that I presently began to suspect--
But no matter what I began to suspect. Hear him--
'Ten miles above Winona we come to Fountain City, nestling sweetly at the feet
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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 Cavalry General by Xenophon: needs protection--a small number, be it observed, is just as capable
of vedette duty, as well able, say, to scan the distant horizon, as a
large; and by the same token men with no great confidence in
themselves or in their horses are not ill-qualified to guard, or
withdraw within shelter[8] the property of friends; since fear, as the
proverb has it, makes a shrewd watchman. The proposal, therefore, to
select from these a corps of observation will most likely prove true
strategy. But what then of the residue not needed for outpost duty? If
any one imagines he has got an armament, he will find it miserably
small, and lacking in every qualification necessary to risk an open
encounter.
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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 Gobseck by Honore de Balzac: lie, in law it would collapse. M. Gobseck is too honest a man to deny
that the sale was a profitable transaction, more especially as my
conscience, no less than my duty, compels me to make the admission.
But once bring the case into a court of law, M. le Comte, the issue
would be doubtful. My advice to you is to come to terms with M.
Gobseck, who can plead that he bought the diamonds in all good faith;
you would be bound in any case to return the purchase money. Consent
to an arrangement, with power to redeem at the end of seven or eight
months, or a year even, or any convenient lapse of time, for the
repayment of the sum borrowed by Mme. la Comtesse, unless you would
prefer to repurchase them outright and give security for repayment.'
Gobseck |
