| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Walking by Henry David Thoreau: outlaws.
"When he came to grene wode,
In a mery mornynge,
There he herde the notes small
Of byrdes mery syngynge.
"It is ferre gone, sayd Robyn,
That I was last here;
Me Lyste a lytell for to shote
At the donne dere."
I think that I cannot preserve my health and spirits, unless I
spend four hours a day at least--and it is commonly more than
Walking |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Helen of Troy And Other Poems by Sara Teasdale: O dreams that flock about my sleep,
I pray you bring my love to me,
And let me think I hear his voice
Again ring free.
And if you care to please me well,
And live to-morrow in my mind,
Let him who was so cold before,
To-night seem kind.
VI
I plucked a daisy in the fields,
And there beneath the sun
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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 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne: These words of the commander had a great effect upon me. I cannot deny it.
My weak point was touched; and I forgot, for a moment, that the contemplation
of these sublime subjects was not worth the loss of liberty.
Besides, I trusted to the future to decide this grave question.
So I contented myself with saying:
"By what name ought I to address you?"
"Sir," replied the commander, "I am nothing to you but Captain Nemo;
and you and your companions are nothing to me but the passengers
of the Nautilus."
Captain Nemo called. A steward appeared. The captain gave him
his orders in that strange language which I did not understand.
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea |
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 Witch, et. al by Anton Chekhov: a bath-house; it was not only hard to speak but even hard to
listen. Gusev hugged his knees, laid his head on them and thought
of his home. Good heavens, what a relief it was to think of snow
and cold in that stifling heat! You drive in a sledge, all at
once the horses take fright at something and bolt. . . .
Regardless of the road, the ditches, the ravines, they dash like
mad things, right through the village, over the pond by the
pottery works, out across the open fields. "Hold on," the pottery
hands and the peasants sho ut, meeting them. "Hold on." But why?
Let the keen, cold wind beat in one's face and bite one's hands;
let the lumps of snow, kicked up by the horses' hoofs, fall on
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