| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Maria, or the Wrongs of Woman by Mary Wollstonecraft: action were so loose, and his mind so uncultivated, that every
thing like order appeared to him in the shape of restraint; and,
like men in the savage state, he required the strong stimulus of
hope or fear, produced by wild speculations, in which the interests
of others went for nothing, to keep his spirits awake. He one time
professed patriotism, but he knew not what it was to feel honest
indignation; and pretended to be an advocate for liberty, when,
with as little affection for the human race as for individuals, he
thought of nothing but his own gratification. He was just such a
citizen, as a father. The sums he adroitly obtained by a violation
of the laws of his country, as well as those of humanity, he would
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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 Human Drift by Jack London: A heavy European drift to the New World has gone on and is going
on; yet Europe, whose population a century ago was 170,000,000,
has to-day 500,000,000. At this rate of increase, provided that
subsistence is not overtaken, a century from now the population of
Europe will be 1,500,000,000. And be it noted of the present rate
of increase in the United States that only one-third is due to
immigration, while two-thirds is due to excess of births over
deaths. And at this present rate of increase, the population of
the United States will be 500,000,000 in less than a century from
now.
Man, the hungry one, the killer, has always suffered for lack of
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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 Lone Star Ranger by Zane Grey: they're no more likely to interfere with you than you are with
them. But there's a sight of fellers like Bosomer in the river
country. They'll all want your game. An' every town you ride
into will scare up some cowpuncher full of booze or a
long-haired four-flush gunman or a sheriff--an' these men will
be playin' to the crowd an' yellin' for your blood. Thet's the
Texas of it. You'll have to hide fer ever in the brakes or
you'll have to KILL such men. Buck, I reckon this ain't
cheerful news to a decent chap like you. I'm only tellin' you
because I've taken a likin' to you, an' I seen right off thet
you ain't border-wise. Let's eat now, an' afterward we'll go
The Lone Star Ranger |
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 Records of a Family of Engineers by Robert Louis Stevenson: eccentric and original locutions, he was well qualified to
inspire a salutary terror in the service.
`I find that the keepers have, by some means or another,
got into the way of cleaning too much with rotten-stone and
oil. I take the principal keeper to TASK on this subject, and
make him bring a clean towel and clean one of the brazen
frames, which leaves the towel in an odious state. This towel
I put up in a sheet of paper, seal, and take with me to
confront Mr. Murdoch, who has just left the station.' `This
letter' - a stern enumeration of complaints - `to lie a week
on the light-room book-place, and to be put in the Inspector's
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