| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Letters from England by Elizabeth Davis Bancroft: de Montebello said of France, that he "knew there were lava streams
below, but he did not know the crust was so thin." Here, on the
contrary, the crust is very thick. And yet I can see in the most
conservative circles that a feeling is gaining ground that some
concessions must be made. An enlargement of the suffrage one hears
now often discussed as, perhaps, an approaching necessity.
Friday, April 14
The day of the Chartists passed off with most ridiculous quiet, and
the government is stronger than ever. . . . If the Alien Bill
passes, our American friends must mind their p's and q's, for if
they praise the "model republic" too loudly, they may be packed off
|
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Insidious Dr. Fu-Manchu by Sax Rohmer: shaking his clenched fists towards the window.
"The villain!" he cried. "The fiendishly clever villain!
I suspected that Sir Crichton was next, and I was right.
But I came too late, Petrie! That hits me hard, old man.
To think that I knew and yet failed to save him!"
He resumed his seat, smoking hard.
"Fu-Manchu has made the blunder common to all men of unusual genius,"
he said. "He has underrated his adversary. He has not given
me credit for perceiving the meaning of the scented messages.
He has thrown away one powerful weapon--to get such a message
into my hands--and he thinks that once safe within doors,
The Insidious Dr. Fu-Manchu |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Lysis by Plato: And I say, my boys, that no one who loves or desires another would ever
have loved or desired or affected him, if he had not been in some way
congenial to him, either in his soul, or in his character, or in his
manners, or in his form.
Yes, yes, said Menexenus. But Lysis was silent.
Then, I said, the conclusion is, that what is of a congenial nature must be
loved.
It follows, he said.
Then the lover, who is true and no counterfeit, must of necessity be loved
by his love.
Lysis and Menexenus gave a faint assent to this; and Hippothales changed
Lysis |
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 Ten Years Later by Alexandre Dumas: ready early in the morning with fresh ideas and the sage
counsel of sufficing sleep.
CHAPTER 68
D'Artagnan continues his Investigations
At daybreak D'Artagnan saddled Furet, who had fared
sumptuously all night, devouring the remainder of the oats
and hay left by his companions. The musketeer sifted all he
possibly could out of the host, whom he found cunning,
mistrustful, and devoted, body and soul, to M. Fouquet. In
order not to awaken the suspicions of this man, he carried
on his fable of being a probable purchaser of some
Ten Years Later |
