| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from In a German Pension by Katherine Mansfield: "Why? Because I love flowers?"
"I'd far rather you loved other things," said the strange man slowly. She
broke off a little pink petal and smiled at it.
"Let me send you some flowers," said the strange man. "I'll send you a
roomful if you'd like them."
His voice frightened her slightly. "Oh no, thanks--this one is quite
enough for me."
"No, it isn't"--in a teasing voice.
"What a stupid remark!" thought Viola, and looking at him again he did not
seem quite so jolly. She noticed that his eyes were set too closely
together--and they were too small. Horrible thought, that he should prove
|
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Lost Princess of Oz by L. Frank Baum: as good as that other, I'd eat it in spite of a dozen enchantments or
a hundred shoemakers!"
Just then, Scraps came dancing along and saw him sitting at the foot
of the tree. "Oh, here you are!" she said. "Up to your old tricks,
eh? Don't you know it's impolite to get lost and keep everybody
waiting for you? Come along, and I'll lead you back to Dorothy and
the others."
Button-Bright rose slowly to accompany her.
"That wasn't much of a loss," he said cheerfully. "I haven't
been gone half a day, so there's no harm done."
Dorothy, however, when the boy rejoined the party, gave him a good
The Lost Princess of Oz |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Aeneid by Virgil: The souls whom that unhappy flame invades,
In secret solitude and myrtle shades
Make endless moans, and, pining with desire,
Lament too late their unextinguish'd fire.
Here Procris, Eriphyle here he found,
Baring her breast, yet bleeding with the wound
Made by her son. He saw Pasiphae there,
With Phaedra's ghost, a foul incestuous pair.
There Laodamia, with Evadne, moves,
Unhappy both, but loyal in their loves:
Caeneus, a woman once, and once a man,
Aeneid |
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 Voyage of the Beagle by Charles Darwin: is not increased by currents from the outside, but is itself
blown outwards by the force of the wind. Hence it is observed,
that the tide near the head of the lagoon does not
rise so high during a strong breeze as it does when it is
calm. This difference of level, although no doubt very small,
has, I believe, caused the death of those coral-groves, which
under the former and more open condition of the outer reef
has attained the utmost possible limit of upward growth.
A few miles north of Keeling there is another small atoll,
the lagoon of which is nearly filled up with coral-mud. Captain
Ross found embedded in the conglomerate on the outer
The Voyage of the Beagle |
