| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Essays of Francis Bacon by Francis Bacon: estates; which, in process of time, breeds a public
poverty.
On the other side, the commodities of usury are,
first, that howsoever usury in some respect hinder-
eth merchandizing, yet in some other it advanceth
it; for it is certain that the greatest part of trade is
driven by young merchants, upon borrowing at
interest; so as if the usurer either call in, or keep
back, his money, there will ensue, presently, a
great stand of trade. The second is, that were it not
for this easy borrowing upon interest, men's neces-
Essays of Francis Bacon |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Euthydemus by Plato: others make for them; and this proves that the art of making speeches is
not the same as the art of using them.
Yes, I said; and I take your words to be a sufficient proof that the art of
making speeches is not one which will make a man happy. And yet I did
think that the art which we have so long been seeking might be discovered
in that direction; for the composers of speeches, whenever I meet them,
always appear to me to be very extraordinary men, Cleinias, and their art
is lofty and divine, and no wonder. For their art is a part of the great
art of enchantment, and hardly, if at all, inferior to it: and whereas the
art of the enchanter is a mode of charming snakes and spiders and
scorpions, and other monsters and pests, this art of their's acts upon
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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 Lady Chatterley's Lover by D. H. Lawrence: loose hand on the table. He was no simple working man, not he: he was
acting! acting!
'Still!' she said, as she took a little cheese. 'It would be more
natural if you spoke to us in normal English, not in vernacular.'
He looked at her, feeling her devil of a will.
'Would it?' he said in the normal English. 'Would it? Would anything
that was said between you and me be quite natural, unless you said you
wished me to hell before your sister ever saw me again: and unless I
said something almost as unpleasant back again? Would anything else be
natural?'
'Oh yes!' said Hilda. 'Just good manners would be quite natural.'
Lady Chatterley's Lover |
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 Madame Firmiani by Honore de Balzac: possessed millions that I might--" (here a whisper). "Shall I present
you?" The speaker is a youth of the Student species, known for his
boldness among men and his timidity in a boudoir.
"Madame Firmiani?" cries another, twirling his cane. "I'll tell you
what I think of her; she is a woman between thirty and thirty-five;
faded complexion, handsome eyes, flat figure, contralto voice worn
out, much dressed, rather rouged, charming manners; in short, my dear
fellow, the remains of a pretty woman who is still worth the trouble
of a passion." This remark is from the species Fop, who has just
breakfasted, doesn't weigh his words, and is about to mount his horse.
At that particular moment Fops are pitiless.
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