| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Catriona by Robert Louis Stevenson: it; if we gang separate, we make twae of them: the more likelihood to
stave in upon some of these gentry of yours. And then, second, if they
keep the track of us, it may come to a fecht for it yet, Davie; and
then, I'll confess I would be blythe to have you at my oxter, and I
think you would be none the worse of having me at yours. So, by my way
of it, we should creep out of this wood no further gone than just the
inside of next minute, and hold away east for Gillane, where I'm to
find my ship. It'll be like old days while it lasts, Davie; and (come
the time) we'll have to think what you should be doing. I'm wae to
leave ye here, wanting me."
"Have with ye, then!" says I. "Do ye gang back where you were
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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 Europeans by Henry James: he growled, "you don't mean that!"
"And that when--for common civility's sake--you came occasionally
to the house you left her alone and spent your time in Felix's studio,
under pretext of looking at his sketches."
"Oh, come!" growled Clifford, again.
"Did you ever know me to tell an untruth?"
"Yes, lots of them!" said Clifford, seeing an opening,
out of the discussion, for his sarcastic powers.
"Well," he presently added, "I thought you were my father."
"You knew some one was there?"
"We heard you coming in."
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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 Faith of Men by Jack London: Lizzie, a wheezy ten-ton stern-wheeler, twenty-four hours behind,
beat Leclere in by three days. And when he did get in, it was with
a clean-drilled bullet-hole through his shoulder muscle, and a tale
of ambush and murder.
A strike had been made at Sunrise, and things had changed
considerably. With the infusion of several hundred gold-seekers, a
deal of whisky, and half-a-dozen equipped gamblers, the missionary
had seen the page of his years of labour with the Indians wiped
clean. When the squaws became preoccupied with cooking beans and
keeping the fire going for the wifeless miners, and the bucks with
swapping their warm furs for black bottles and broken time-pieces,
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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 Of The Nature of Things by Lucretius: By blindfold reason. And, Memmius, unless
From out thy mind thou spuest all of this
And casteth far from thee all thoughts which be
Unworthy gods and alien to their peace,
Then often will the holy majesties
Of the high gods be harmful unto thee,
As by thy thought degraded,- not, indeed,
That essence supreme of gods could be by this
So outraged as in wrath to thirst to seek
Revenges keen; but even because thyself
Thou plaguest with the notion that the gods,
Of The Nature of Things |
