| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Marvelous Land of Oz by L. Frank Baum: lack of breath. "What have I done to you, to be so persecuted?"
"You have done nothing to me," answered the gentle Sorceress; "but I suspect
you have been guilty of several wicked actions; and if I find it is true
that you have so abused your knowledge of magic, I intend to punish you
severely."
"I defy you!" croaked the old hag. "You dare not harm me!"
Just then the Gump flew up to them and alighted upon the desert sands beside
Glinda. Our friends
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were delighted to find that Mombi had finally been captured, and after a
hurried consultation it was decided they should all return to the camp in
The Marvelous Land of Oz |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Black Dwarf by Walter Scott: thickest and deepest bloom. The bees, which the Solitary had
added to his rural establishment, were abroad and on the wing,
and filled the air with the murmurs of their industry. As the
old man crept out of his little hut, his two she-goats came to
meet him, and licked his hands in gratitude for the vegetables
with which he supplied them from his garden. "You, at least," he
said--"you, at least, see no differences in form which can alter
your feelings to a benefactor--to you, the finest shape that ever
statuary moulded would be an object of indifference or of alarm,
should it present itself instead of the mis-shapen trunk to whose
services you are accustomed. While I was in the world, did I
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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 Brother of Daphne by Dornford Yates: the balcony, on the chair, on the floor. It was nowhere. I
stood up and peered into the great, dim auditorium, wondering
whether I dared strike a match. Fearing that there might be a
fireman somewhere in the darkness, I abandoned the idea. The
sudden flash might be seen, and then people would come running,
and there would have to be explanations. I went down on my hands
and knees, and felt round her chair and then mine, and then all
over the box. Just as I got up, my right hand encountered
something hard and shiny. Clearly it wasn't what I was looking
for, but out of curiosity I stooped to feel it again. I groped
in vain for a moment; then I put my hand full on the buckle of a
The Brother of Daphne |
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 Damaged Goods by Upton Sinclair: grief. But believe me, you are not in a state of mind to decide
about these matters now."
"You are mistaken," declared the other, controlling himself with
an effort. "I have been thinking about nothing else for days. I
have discussed it with my daughter, and she agrees with me.
Surely, sir, you cannot desire that my daughter should continue
to live with a man who has struck her so brutal, so cowardly, a
blow."
"If I refuse your request," the doctor answered, "it is in the
interest of your daughter." Then, seeing the other's excitement
returning, he continued, "In your state of mind, Monsieur Loches,
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