| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Heroes by Charles Kingsley: they and the heroes fought, with fists, and teeth, and the
goblets from which they drank; and how they tore up the pine-
trees in their fury, and hurled great crags of stone, while
the mountains thundered with the battle, and the land was
wasted far and wide; till the Lapithai drove them from their
home in the rich Thessalian plains to the lonely glens of
Pindus, leaving Cheiron all alone. And the heroes praised
his song right heartily; for some of them had helped in that
great fight.
Then Orpheus took the lyre, and sang of Chaos, and the making
of the wondrous World, and how all things sprang from Love,
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Another Study of Woman by Honore de Balzac: narrative, by which a celebrated man, now dead, depicted the innocent
jesuistry of women, painting it with the subtlety peculiar to persons
who have seen much of the world, and which makes statesmen such
delightful storytellers when, like Prince Talleyrand and Prince
Metternich, they vouchsafe to tell a story?
De Marsay, prime minister for some six months, had already given
proofs of superior capabilities. Those who had known him long were not
indeed surprised to see him display all the talents and various
aptitudes of a statesman; still it might yet be a question whether he
would prove to be a solid politician, or had merely been moulded in
the fire of circumstance. This question had just been asked by a man
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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 Tales of the Klondyke by Jack London: "'Killisnoo!' I shouts. 'Killisnoo! Killisnoo!'
"I was making medicine, and they began to scare. Every eye was on
me; no time to find out that Tilly wasn't there. Then I called
Killisnoo three times again, and waited; and three times more.
All for mystery and to make them nervous. Chief George couldn't
guess what I was up to, and wanted to put a stop to the foolery;
but the shamans said to wait, and that they'd see me and go me one
better, or words to that effect. Besides, he was a superstitious
cuss, and I fancy a bit afraid of the white man's magic.
"Then I called Killisnoo, long and soft like the howl of a wolf,
till the women were all a-tremble and the bucks looking serious.
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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 The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald: "Oh, you want too much!" she cried to Gatsby. "I love you now--isn't that
enough? I can't help what's past." She began to sob helplessly.
"I did love him once--but I loved you too."
Gatsby's eyes opened and closed.
"You loved me TOO?" he repeated.
"Even that's a lie," said Tom savagely. "She didn't know you were alive.
Why--there're things between Daisy and me that you'll never know,
things that neither of us can ever forget."
The words seemed to bite physically into Gatsby.
"I want to speak to Daisy alone," he insisted. "She's all excited now----"
"Even alone I can't say I never loved Tom," she admitted in a pitiful
The Great Gatsby |
