| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Travels of Sir John Mandeville by Sir John Mandeville: Turks, usurped the land and held it to himself, and cleped him
Emperor of Trebizond.
And from thence men go through Little Armenia. And in that country
is an old castle that stands upon a rock; the which is clept the
castle of the Sparrow-hawk, that is beyond the city of Layays
beside the town of Pharsipee, that belongeth to the lordship of
Cruk, that is a rich lord and a good Christian man; where men find
a sparrow-hawk upon a perch right fair and right well made, and a
fair lady of faerie that keepeth it. And who that will watch that
sparrow-hawk seven days and seven nights, and, as some men say,
three days and three nights, without company and without sleep,
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from A Modest Proposal by Jonathan Swift: may flea the carcass; the skin of which, artificially dressed,
will make admirable gloves for ladies, and summer boots for fine
gentlemen.
As to our City of Dublin, shambles may be appointed for this
purpose, in the most convenient parts of it, and butchers we may
be assured will not be wanting; although I rather recommend
buying the children alive, and dressing them hot from the knife,
as we do roasting pigs.
A very worthy person, a true lover of his country, and whose
virtues I highly esteem, was lately pleased, in discoursing on
this matter, to offer a refinement upon my scheme. He said, that
A Modest Proposal |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from The Message by Honore de Balzac: suddenly read of his death in a newspaper. He begged me to go
myself to break the news to her. He bade me look for a key which
he wore on a ribbon about his neck. I found it half buried in the
flesh, but the dying boy did not utter a sound as I extricated it
as gently as possible from the wound which it had made. He had
scarcely given me the necessary directions--I was to go to his
home at La Charite-sur-Loire for his mistress' love-letters,
which he conjured me to return to her--when he grew speechless in
the middle of a sentence; but from his last gesture, I understood
that the fatal key would be my passport in his mother's house. It
troubled him that he was powerless to utter a single word to
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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 Two Noble Kinsmen by William Shakespeare: They not ore'-weigh us.
2. KNIGHT.
Let us bid farewell;
And with our patience anger tottring Fortune,
Who at her certain'st reeles.
3. KNIGHT.
Come; who begins?
PALAMON.
Ev'n he that led you to this Banket shall
Taste to you all.--Ah ha, my Friend, my Friend,
Your gentle daughter gave me freedome once;
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