| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Summer by Edith Wharton: rounding their domes below the road, the meadows
sloping westward in the afternoon light--before his
first kiss blotted it all out. Everything unrelated to
the hours spent in that tranquil place was as faint as
the remembrance of a dream. The only reality was the
wondrous unfolding of her new self, the reaching out to
the light of all her contracted tendrils. She had
lived all her life among people whose sensibilities
seemed to have withered for lack of use; and more
wonderful, at first, than Harney's endearments were the
words that were a part of them. She had always thought
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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 Wrong Box by Stevenson & Osbourne: Brand; and, looking fearfully back, he saw the trio standing
together in the midst of the way, like folk consulting. The
bravest of military heroes are not always equal to themselves as
to their reputation; and fear, on some singular provocation, will
find a lodgment in the most unfamiliar bosom. The word
'detective' might have been heard to gurgle in the sergeant's
throat; and vigorously applying the whip, he fled up the
riverside road to Great Haverham, at the gallop of the carrier's
horse. The lights of the houseboat flashed upon the flying waggon
as it passed; the beat of hoofs and the rattle of the vehicle
gradually coalesced and died away; and presently, to the trio on
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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 The Cavalry General by Xenophon: [7] Or, "His better plan would be to."
[8] Reading {anakhorizein}. Cf. "Cyrop." II. ii. 8; "Anab." V. ii. 10;
or if {anakhorein eis}, transl. "or retire into safe quarters."
See "Hell." IV. vi. 44.
But let him make up his mind to employ it in guerilla war, and he will
find the force quite competent for that, I warrant. His business, so
at least it seems to me, will be to keep his men perpetually in
readiness to strike a blow, and without exposing himself, to play
sentinel, waiting for any false move on the part of the hostile
armament. And it is a way with soldiers, bear in mind, the more
numerous they are, the more blunders they commit. They must needs
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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 Malbone: An Oldport Romance by Thomas Wentworth Higginson: doting father asked was to pay for her dresses, and to see her
wear them; and if her friends wore a part of them, it only made
necessary a larger wardrobe, and more varied and pleasurable
shopping. She was as good a manager in wealth as in poverty,
wasted nothing, took exquisite care of everything, and saved
faithfully for some one else all that was not needed for her
own pretty person.
Pretty she was throughout, from the parting of her jet-black
hair to the high instep of her slender foot; a glancing,
brilliant, brunette beauty, with the piquant charm of perpetual
spirits, and the equipoise of a perfectly healthy nature. She
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