| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Tarzan of the Apes by Edgar Rice Burroughs: had killed their former leader, and so little time had elapsed
that none of his companions had as yet questioned his authority.
Clayton's only response was a shrug of the shoulders, but
as he left them he picked up the spear which had transfixed
Snipes, and thus primitively armed, the son of the then Lord
Greystoke strode into the dense jungle.
Every few moments he called aloud the names of the wanderers.
The watchers in the cabin by the beach heard the sound of his
voice growing ever fainter and fainter, until at last it was
swallowed up by the myriad noises of the primeval wood.
When Professor Archimedes Q. Porter and his assistant,
Tarzan of the Apes |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte: words, scrutinise her actions, punish her body to save her soul:
if, indeed, such salvation be possible, for (my tongue falters while
I tell it) this girl, this child, the native of a Christian land,
worse than many a little heathen who says its prayers to Brahma and
kneels before Juggernaut--this girl is--a liar!"
Now came a pause of ten minutes, during which I, by this time in
perfect possession of my wits, observed all the female Brocklehursts
produce their pocket-handkerchiefs and apply them to their optics,
while the elderly lady swayed herself to and fro, and the two
younger ones whispered, "How shocking!" Mr. Brocklehurst resumed.
"This I learned from her benefactress; from the pious and charitable
Jane Eyre |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Timaeus by Plato: Let us consider this question more precisely. Is there any self-existent
fire? and do all those things which we call self-existent exist? or are
only those things which we see, or in some way perceive through the bodily
organs, truly existent, and nothing whatever besides them? And is all that
which we call an intelligible essence nothing at all, and only a name?
Here is a question which we must not leave unexamined or undetermined, nor
must we affirm too confidently that there can be no decision; neither must
we interpolate in our present long discourse a digression equally long, but
if it is possible to set forth a great principle in a few words, that is
just what we want.
Thus I state my view:--If mind and true opinion are two distinct classes,
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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 Case of The Lamp That Went Out by Grace Isabel Colbron and Augusta Groner: The evening paper printed an exact description of the man's
appearance and his clothing.
It was about ten o'clock next morning when Mrs. Klingmayer, a widow
living in a quiet street at the opposite end of the city from
Hietzing, returned from her morning marketing. It was only a few
little bundles that she brought with her and she set about preparing
her simple dinner. Her packages were wrapped in newspapers, which
she carefully smoothed out and laid on the dresser.
Mrs. Klingmayer was the widow of a street-car conductor and the
little pension which she received from the company, as well as the
money she could earn for herself, did not permit of the indulgence
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