| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Europeans by Henry James: she could not have told you why, and neither can her humble historian.
It always seemed to her that she must do something particular--
that she must honor the occasion; and while she roamed about,
wondering what she could do, the occasion usually came to an end.
To-day she wondered more than ever. At last she took down a book;
there was no library in the house, but there were books in all the rooms.
None of them were forbidden books, and Gertrude had not stopped at
home for the sake of a chance to climb to the inaccessible shelves.
She possessed herself of a very obvious volume--one of the series
of the Arabian Nights--and she brought it out into the portico
and sat down with it in her lap. There, for a quarter of an hour,
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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 Enchanted Island of Yew by L. Frank Baum: the prince, and it was late when he called Nerle to attend him to
their apartment.
12. The Gift of Beauty
The following morning Marvel and Nerle once more set out to leave the
Kingdom of Spor and its ugly king. They selected another pathway
leading from the castle and traveled all day, coming at nightfall into
view of the place whence they had started, with its solemn rows of
giants and Gray Men standing ready to receive them.
This repetition of their former experience somewhat annoyed the
prince, while Nerle's usually despondent face wore a smile.
"I see trouble ahead," murmured the esquire, almost cheerfully.
The Enchanted Island of Yew |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Walden by Henry David Thoreau: forest into their hands to play with by the way, which they leave,
either intentionally or accidentally. One has peeled a willow wand,
woven it into a ring, and dropped it on my table. I could always
tell if visitors had called in my absence, either by the bended
twigs or grass, or the print of their shoes, and generally of what
sex or age or quality they were by some slight trace left, as a
flower dropped, or a bunch of grass plucked and thrown away, even as
far off as the railroad, half a mile distant, or by the lingering
odor of a cigar or pipe. Nay, I was frequently notified of the
passage of a traveller along the highway sixty rods off by the scent
of his pipe.
Walden |
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 Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin by Benjamin Franklin: so necessary where constant vigilance was to be kept up, and guard
maintained against the unremitting attraction of ancient habits,
and the force of perpetual temptations. This being acquir'd
and establish'd, Silence would be more easy; and my desire being
to gain knowledge at the same time that I improv'd in virtue,
and considering that in conversation it was obtain'd rather by the use
of the ears than of the tongue, and therefore wishing to break
a habit I was getting into of prattling, punning, and joking,
which only made me acceptable to trifling company, I gave Silence
the second place. This and the next, Order, I expected would
allow me more time for attending to my project and my studies.
The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin |
