| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Apology by Plato: escape death; and in other dangers there are other ways of escaping death,
if a man is willing to say and do anything. The difficulty, my friends, is
not to avoid death, but to avoid unrighteousness; for that runs faster than
death. I am old and move slowly, and the slower runner has overtaken me,
and my accusers are keen and quick, and the faster runner, who is
unrighteousness, has overtaken them. And now I depart hence condemned by
you to suffer the penalty of death,--they too go their ways condemned by
the truth to suffer the penalty of villainy and wrong; and I must abide by
my award--let them abide by theirs. I suppose that these things may be
regarded as fated,--and I think that they are well.
And now, O men who have condemned me, I would fain prophesy to you; for I
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Lesser Bourgeoisie by Honore de Balzac: obtained the prize for virtue, which, according to all appearance, I
can readily do for you, there will be no reason to hide your little
property any longer,--a reason which I fully understand; but you will
not be able to withdraw it from the notary's hands immediately; and in
case of any difficulty arising, I should be forced to explain the
situation, the manner in which you have concealed your prosperity from
your master, to whom you have been supposed to be wholly devoted.
This, as you will see, would put you in the position of falsely
professing virtue, and would do great harm to your reputation for
piety."
"Oh! monsieur," said the saintly woman, "can it be that any one would
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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 Chance by Joseph Conrad: person, tried even to provoke confidences. Flora's white face with
the deep blue eyes did not strike their hearts as it did the heart
of Captain Anthony, as the very face of the suffering world. Her
pained reserve had no power to awe them into decency.
Well, she returned alone--as in fact might have been expected.
After leaving the Registry Office Flora de Barral and Roderick
Anthony had gone for a walk in a park. It must have been an East-
End park but I am not sure. Anyway that's what they did. It was a
sunny day. He said to her: "Everything I have in the world belongs
to you. I have seen to that without troubling my brother-in-law.
They have no call to interfere."
Chance |
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 Twelve Stories and a Dream by H. G. Wells: maimed, writhing and cursing, and weeping and groaning, and learning
the lesson of pain. And towards dawn the thing he had waited for
happened, the brain glowed brightly and the evil spirit came out,
and Mr. Bessel entered the body he had feared he should never enter
again. As he did so, the silence--the brooding silence--ended;
he heard the tumult of traffic and the voices of people overhead,
and that strange world that is the shadow of our world--the dark
and silent shadows of ineffectual desire and the shadows of lost
men--vanished clean away.
He lay there for the space of about three hours before he was found.
And in spite of the pain and suffering of his wounds, and of the dim
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