| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Euthydemus by Plato: father.
Then he is and is not your brother.
Not by the same father, my good man, I said, for Chaeredemus was his
father, and mine was Sophroniscus.
And was Sophroniscus a father, and Chaeredemus also?
Yes, I said; the former was my father, and the latter his.
Then, he said, Chaeredemus is not a father.
He is not my father, I said.
But can a father be other than a father? or are you the same as a stone?
I certainly do not think that I am a stone, I said, though I am afraid that
you may prove me to be one.
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Little Rivers by Henry van Dyke: hoop at the top--silk aprons, and a green jacket, and bottles of
wine, and half a smoked pig, and a coil of rope, and a purse.
The gallant firemen voluntarily climbed up the pole as far as
they could, one after another, and then involuntarily slid down
again exhausted, each one wiping off a little more of the grease,
until at last the lucky one came who profited by his forerunners'
labours, and struggled to the top to snatch the smoked pig.
After that it was easy.
Such is success in this unequal world; the man who wipes off the
grease seldom gets the prize.
Then followed various games, with tubs of water; and coins fastened
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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 Case of the Registered Letter by Grace Isabel Colbron and Augusta Groner: quiet man and made few friends, but he seemed to take to Albert and
came to see us frequently. Albert had spent some years in America,
in Chicago, and Siders liked to talk to him about things and people
there. But one day Siders suddenly sold his property and moved to G-.
Two weeks later he was found dead in his lodgings in the city,
murdered, and now - now they have accused Albert of the crime."
"On what grounds? - oh, I beg your pardon, sir; I did not mean -"
"That's all right, Muller," said the commissioner. "As you may
have to undertake the case, you might as well begin to do the
questioning now.
"They say" - Miss Graumann's voice quavered - "they say that Albert
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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 Complete Poems of Longfellow by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow: "Look! the sea-gulls feed upon him,
Yes, my friends Kayoshk, the sea-gulls;
Drive them not away, Nokomis,
They have saved me from great peril
In the body of the sturgeon,
Wait until their meal is ended,
Till their craws are full with feasting,
Till they homeward fly, at sunset,
To their nests among the marshes;
Then bring all your pots and kettles,
And make oil for us in Winter."
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