| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Road to Oz by L. Frank Baum: congregated about the platform and the royal party and the visitors
were seated in the grandstand, the Wizard skillfully performed some
feats of juggling glass balls and lighted candles. He tossed a dozen
or so of them high in the air and caught them one by one as they came
down, without missing any.
Then he introduced the Scarecrow, who did a sword-swallowing act that
aroused much interest. After this the Tin Woodman gave an exhibition
of Swinging the Axe, which he made to whirl around him so rapidly that
the eye could scarcely follow the motion of the gleaming blade.
Glinda the Sorceress then stepped upon the platform, and by her magic
made a big tree grow in the middle of the space, made blossoms appear
The Road to Oz |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from A Footnote to History by Robert Louis Stevenson: death to them and the distribution of letters in Samoa formed no
part of their profession. His great masterwork of pleasantry, the
Scanlon affair, must be narrated in its place. And he was no less
bold than comical. The ADAMS was not supposed to be a match for
the ADLER; there was no glory to be gained in beating her; and yet
I have heard naval officers maintain she might have proved a
dangerous antagonist in narrow waters and at short range.
Doubtless Leary thought so. He was continually daring Fritze to
come on; and already, in a despatch of the 9th, I find Becker
complaining of his language in the hearing of German officials, and
how he had declared that, on the ADLER again interfering, he would
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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 From London to Land's End by Daniel Defoe: too, and then write his account and take no notice of it.
From Dorchester it is six miles to the seaside south, and the ocean
in view almost all the way. The first town you come to is
Weymouth, or Weymouth and Melcombe, two towns lying at the mouth of
a little rivulet which they call the Wey, but scarce claims the
name of a river. However, the entrance makes a very good though
small harbour, and they are joined by a wooden bridge; so that
nothing but the harbour parts them; yet they are separate
corporations, and choose each of them two members of Parliament,
just as London and Southwark.
Weymouth is a sweet, clean, agreeable town, considering its low
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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 The Cavalry General by Xenophon: theories in the world, the most correct conclusions, will be
fruitless.
[1] {pros to paratugkhanon}, lit. "to meet emergencies." Cf. Thuc. i.
122: "For war, least of all things, conforms to prescribed rules;
it strikes out a path for itself when the moment comes" (Jowett).
[2] Or, "is about as feasible as to foretell each contingency hid in
the womb of futurity."
One thing I am prepared to insist on: it is clear to myself that by
Heaven's help our total cavalry force might be much more quickly
raised to the full quota of a thousand troopers,[3] and with far less
friction to the mass of citizens, by the enrolment of two hundred
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