| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Philosophy 4 by Owen Wister: only applied to oneself. You see, that table is objective. I can stand
off and judge it. It's outside of me; has nothing to do with me. That's
easy. But my opinion of--well, my--well, anything in my nature--"
"Anger when it's time to get up," suggested Billy.
"An excellent illustration," said Bertie. "That is subjective in me.
Similar to your dislike of water as a beverage. That is subjective in
you. But here comes the twist. I can think of my own anger and judge
it, just as if it were an outside thing, like a table. I can compare it
with itself on different mornings or with other people's anger. And I
trust that you can do the same with your thirst."
"Yes," said Billy; "I recognize that it is greater at times and less at
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Unconscious Comedians by Honore de Balzac: annoyed by the sense that he had committed a folly.
"One moment, my dear fellow," said the money-lender. "Though I haven't
the money, I have credit. If your notes are worth nothing, I can keep
them and give you notes in exchange. If we can come to an agreement
about that railway stock we could share the profits, of course in due
proportion and I'll allow you that on--"
"No, no," said Bixiou, "I want money in hand, and I must get those
notes of Ravenouillet's cashed."
"Ravenouillet is sound," said Vauvinet. "He puts money into the
savings-bank; he is good security."
"Better than you," interposed Leon, "for HE doesn't stipend lorettes;
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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 Augsburg Confession by Philip Melanchthon: Electors, Princes, and other Estates of the Empire, amongst other
things, that the several Estates of the Empire, on the strength
of the Imperial edict, should set forth and submit their opinions
and judgments in the German and the Latin language, and since on
the ensuing Wednesday, answer was given to Your Imperial Majesty,
after due deliberation, that we would submit the Articles of our
Confession for our side on next Wednesday, therefore, in
obedience to Your Imperial Majesty's wishes, we offer, in this
matter of religion, the Confession of our preachers and of
ourselves, showing what manner of doctrine from the Holy
Scriptures and the pure Word of God has been up to this time set
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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 Blix by Frank Norris: Canadian border at thirty dollars a head--a venture in which he
had had the assistance of the prodigal son of an American divine
of international renown. The trade to Peruvian insurgents of
condemned rifles was to be regretted only because the ring
manipulating it was broken up. The appropriation of a schooner in
the harbor of Callao was a story in itself; while the robbery of
thirty thousand dollars' worth of sea-otter skins from a Russian
trading-post in Alaska, accomplished chiefly through the agency of
a barrel of rum manufactured from sugar-cane, was a veritable
achievement.
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