| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Lock and Key Library by Julian Hawthorne, Ed.: Not even then removing his eyes from mine, he stepped back one
step, and lifted his hand.
This was a lonesome post to occupy (I said), and it had riveted my
attention when I looked down from up yonder. A visitor was a
rarity, I should suppose; not an unwelcome rarity, I hoped? In me,
he merely saw a man who had been shut up within narrow limits all
his life, and who, being at last set free, had a newly-awakened
interest in these great works. To such purpose I spoke to him; but
I am far from sure of the terms I used; for, besides that I am not
happy in opening any conversation, there was something in the man
that daunted me.
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Catriona by Robert Louis Stevenson: she should suffer nothing.
This carried me home again at once, where I found the mails drawn out
and ready fastened by the door, and the father and daughter with every
mark upon them of a recent disagreement. Catriona was like a wooden
doll; James More breathed hard, his face was dotted with white spots,
and his nose upon one side. As soon as I came in, the girl looked at
him with a steady, clear, dark look that might have been followed by a
blow. It was a hint that was more contemptuous than a command, and I
was surprised to see James More accept it. It was plain he had had a
master talking-to; and I could see there must be more of the devil in
the girl than I had guessed, and more good humour about the man than I
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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 Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne: The atmosphere is evidently charged and surcharged with electricity.
My whole body is saturated; my hair bristles just as when you stand
upon an insulated stool under the action of an electrical machine. It
seems to me as if my companions, the moment they touched me, would
receive a severe shock like that from an electric eel.
At ten in the morning the symptoms of storm become aggravated. The
wind never lulls but to acquire increased strength; the vast bank of
heavy clouds is a huge reservoir of fearful windy gusts and rushing
storms.
I am loth to believe these atmospheric menaces, and yet I cannot help
muttering:
Journey to the Center of the Earth |
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 Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass: An American Slave by Frederick Douglass: should decide my fate one way or the other. My
tendency was upward. I was fast approaching man-
hood, and year after year had passed, and I was
still a slave. These thoughts roused me--I must do
something. I therefore resolved that 1835 should
not pass without witnessing an attempt, on my part,
to secure my liberty. But I was not willing to cherish
this determination alone. My fellow-slaves were dear
to me. I was anxious to have them participate with
me in this, my life-giving determination. I therefore,
though with great prudence, commenced early to
The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass: An American Slave |
