| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Fisherman's Luck by Henry van Dyke: their marriage. Are you honestly of the opinion that if Tom had not
married Ellinor, these two young lives would have been a total
wreck?
Adam Smith, in his book on THE MORAL SENTIMENTS, goes so far as to
say that "love is not interesting to the observer because it is AN
AFFECTION OF THE IMAGINATION, into which it is difficult for a third
party to enter." Something of the same kind occurred to me in
regard to Tom and Ellinor. Yet I would not have presumed to suggest
this thought to either of them. Nor would I have quoted in their
hearing the melancholy and frigid prediction of Ralph Waldo Emerson,
to the effect that they would some day discover "that all which at
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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 O Pioneers! by Willa Cather: denly found we were rich, just from sitting still.
As for me, you remember when I began to buy
land. For years after that I was always squeez-
ing and borrowing until I was ashamed to show
my face in the banks. And then, all at once,
men began to come to me offering to lend me
money--and I didn't need it! Then I went
ahead and built this house. I really built it for
Emil. I want you to see Emil, Carl. He is so
different from the rest of us!"
 O Pioneers! |