| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Marriage Contract by Honore de Balzac: Though Madame Evangelista's face was calm, no Jew of the middle ages
ever suffered greater torture in his caldron of boiling oil than she
was enduring in her violet velvet gown. Solonet had pledged the
marriage to her, but she was ignorant of the means and conditions of
success. The anguish of this uncertainty was intolerable. Possibly she
owed her safety to her daughter's disobedience. Natalie had considered
the advice of her mother and noted her anxiety. When she saw the
success of her own coquetry she was struck to the heart with a variety
of contradictory thoughts. Without blaming her mother, she was half-
ashamed of manoeuvres the object of which was, undoubtedly, some
personal game. She was also seized with a jealous curiosity which is
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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 Time Machine by H. G. Wells: perhaps, but better than despair. And, after all, it was a
beautiful and curious world.
`But probably, the machine had only been taken away. Still, I
must be calm and patient, find its hiding-place, and recover it
by force or cunning. And with that I scrambled to my feet and
looked about me, wondering where I could bathe. I felt weary,
stiff, and travel-soiled. The freshness of the morning made me
desire an equal freshness. I had exhausted my emotion. Indeed,
as I went about my business, I found myself wondering at my
intense excitement overnight. I made a careful examination of
the ground about the little lawn. I wasted some time in futile
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 Twilight Land by Howard Pyle: lights went out, and all was as black as ink. But this time there
was no wailing and crying out, but everything was silent as
death; the door opened slowly, and in came, not six black men as
before, but nine men as silent as death, dressed all in flaming
red, and the torches they carried burned as red as blood. They
took King Selim by the arms, just as the six men had done, and
marched him through the same entries and passageways, and so came
at last to the same vaulted room. There stood the statue, but now
it was turned to flesh and blood, and the eyes were open and
looking straight at Selim the Baker.
"Art thou Selim?" said she; and she pointed her finger straight
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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 A Horse's Tale by Mark Twain: was dreadful. I was afraid she was killed, poor little thing! But
she wasn't. She came to, by-and-by, and said, 'Kiss me, Soldier,'
and those were blessed words. I kissed her - often; I am used to
that, and we like it. But she didn't get up, and I was worried.
She fondled my nose with her hand, and talked to me, and called me
endearing names - which is her way - but she caressed with the same
hand all the time. The other arm was broken, you see, but I didn't
know it, and she didn't mention it. She didn't want to distress
me, you know.
"Soon the big gray wolves came, and hung around, and you could hear
them snarl, and snap at each other, but you couldn't see anything
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