| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from King James Bible: GEN 44:29 And if ye take this also from me, and mischief befall him, ye
shall bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to the grave.
GEN 44:30 Now therefore when I come to thy servant my father, and the
lad be not with us; seeing that his life is bound up in the lad's life;
GEN 44:31 It shall come to pass, when he seeth that the lad is not with
us, that he will die: and thy servants shall bring down the gray hairs
of thy servant our father with sorrow to the grave.
GEN 44:32 For thy servant became surety for the lad unto my father,
saying, If I bring him not unto thee, then I shall bear the blame to my
father for ever.
GEN 44:33 Now therefore, I pray thee, let thy servant abide instead of
King James Bible |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from A Princess of Parms by Edgar Rice Burroughs: the great horde was attacking the barracks of the soldiery.
Dispatching one of my men to Tars Tarkas for a detail
of fifty Tharks, with word of my intentions, I ordered ten
warriors to capture and open one of the great gates while
with the nine remaining I took the other. We were to do
our work quietly, no shots were to be fired and no general
advance made until I had reached the palace with my fifty
Tharks. Our plans worked to perfection. The two sentries
we met were dispatched to their fathers upon the banks of
the lost sea of Korus, and the guards at both gates followed
them in silence.
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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 Jude the Obscure by Thomas Hardy: brilliantly lighted up, and the scene was altogether more brisk and gay.
The faces of the barmaidens had risen in colour, each having a pink
flush on her cheek; their manners were still more vivacious than before--
more abandoned, more excited, more sensuous, and they expressed their
sentiments and desires less euphemistically, laughing in a lackadaisical tone,
without reserve.
The bar had been crowded with men of all sorts during the previous hour,
and he had heard from without the hubbub of their voices; but the customers
were fewer at last. He nodded to Arabella, and told her that she would find
him outside the door when she came away.
"But you must have something with me first," she said with great good humour.
Jude the Obscure |
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 Black Dwarf by Walter Scott: yet they were always obliged to be very cautious in their
deportment towards him. One day, having gone to visit him with
another lady, he took them through his garden, and was showing
them, with much pride and good-humour, all his rich and
tastefully assorted borders, when they happened to stop near a
plot of cabbages which had been somewhat injured by the
caterpillars. Davie, observing one of the ladies smile,
instantly assumed his savage, scowling aspect, rushed among the
cabbages, and dashed them to pieces with his KENT, exclaiming, 'I
hate the worms, for they mock me!'
"Another lady, likewise a friend and old acquaintance of his,
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