| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Ivanhoe by Walter Scott: that which concerned the Knight of Ivanhoe.
Wamba presently appeared to urge the same request,
observing that a cup after midnight was worth three
after curfew. Without disputing a maxim urged
by such grave authority, the Palmer thanked them
for their courtesy, but observed that he had included
in his religious vow, an obligation never to
speak in the kitchen on matters which were prohibited
in the hall. ``That vow,'' said Wamba to the
cupbearer, ``would scarce suit a serving-man.''
The cupbearer shrugged up his shoulders in displeasure.
Ivanhoe |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Prufrock/Other Observations by T. S. Eliot: And now a gusty shower wraps
The grimy scraps
Of withered leaves about your feet
And newspapers from vacant lots;
The showers beat
On broken blinds and chimney-pots,
And at the corner of the street
A lonely cab-horse steams and stamps.
And then the lighting of the lamps.
II
The morning comes to consciousness
Prufrock/Other Observations |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from The Cruise of the Jasper B. by Don Marquis: With their hands clasped over their stomachs, they, too, benignly
twirled their thumbs.
"Tonight," pursued Barnstable, "having finally got all the
information I wished from Dopey Eddie and Izzy the Cat with
regard to Logan Black, I tossed them the key to their irons and
told them to unlock themselves and clear out. It was just before
the storm began, and they were sitting on the bank of the canal
at the time. I allowed them to sit there in the evenings and get
the fresh air.
"But before they could unlock themselves Reginald Maltravers, who
had, we must suppose, escaped from Morris's through the
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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 The Atheist's Mass by Honore de Balzac: one of these rich men, who complain that I charge too much for an
operation,--yes, I should like to see him alone in Paris without
a sou, without a friend, without credit, and forced to work with
his five fingers to live at all! What would he do? Where would he
go to satisfy his hunger?
"Bianchon, if you have sometimes seen me hard and bitter, it was
because I was adding my early sufferings on to the insensibility,
the selfishness of which I have seen thousands of instances in
the highest circles; or, perhaps, I was thinking of the obstacles
which hatred, envy, jealousy, and calumny raised up between me
and success. In Paris, when certain people see you ready to set
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