Today's Stichomancy for Donald Rumsfeld

The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Lamentable Tragedy of Locrine and Mucedorus by William Shakespeare:

To separate us from this earthly mould, No mortal force can countermand their minds: Then, worthy Lord, since there's no way but one, Cease your laments, and leave your grievous moan.

CORINEIUS. Your highness knows how many victories, How many trophies I erected have Triumphantly in every place we came. The Grecian Monarch, warlike Pandrassus, And all the crew of the Molossians; Goffarius, the arm strong King of Gauls,

The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Time Machine by H. G. Wells:

dim outlines of a desolate beach grew visible.

`I stopped very gently and sat upon the Time Machine, looking round. The sky was no longer blue. North-eastward it was inky black, and out of the blackness shone brightly and steadily the pale white stars. Overhead it was a deep Indian red and starless, and south-eastward it grew brighter to a glowing scarlet where, cut by the horizon, lay the huge hull of the sun, red and motionless. The rocks about me were of a harsh reddish colour, and all the trace of life that I could see at first was the intensely green vegetation that covered every projecting point on their south-eastern face. It was the same rich green

The Time Machine

The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald:

there."

"I don't know a single----"

"You must know Gatsby."

"Gatsby?" demanded Daisy. "What Gatsby?"

Before I could reply that he was my neighbor dinner was announced; wedging his tense arm imperatively under mine, Tom Buchanan compelled me from the room as though he were moving a checker to another square.

Slenderly, languidly, their hands set lightly on their hips, the two young women preceded us out onto a rosy-colored porch, open toward the sunset, where four candles flickered on the table in the diminished wind.

The Great Gatsby

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 Verses 1889-1896 by Rudyard Kipling:

At the hand of Harendra Mukerji, Senior Gomashta, G.B.T. * Value Payable Parcels Post: in which the Government collects the money for the sender. Boh Da Thone was a warrior bold: His sword and his Snider were bossed with gold, And the Peacock Banner his henchmen bore Was stiff with bullion, but stiffer with gore.

Verses 1889-1896