| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Four Arthurian Romances by Chretien DeTroyes: within her heart a struggle and conflict which disturbs her
breast, and which causes her such pain and anguish that she weeps
and moans all night, and tosses about with sudden starts, so that
she is almost beside herself. And when she has tossed and sobbed
and groaned and started up and sighed again then she looked
within her heart to see who and what manner of man it was for
whom Love was tormenting her. And when she has refreshed herself
somewhat with thinking to her heart's content, she stretches and
tosses about again, and ridicules all the thoughts she has had.
Then she takes another course, and says: "Silly one, what matters
it to me if this youth is of good birth and wise and courteous
|
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Several Works by Edgar Allan Poe: only punish, but punish with impunity. A wrong is unredressed when
retribution overtakes its redresser. It is equally unredressed
when the avenger fails to make himself felt as such to him who has
done the wrong.
It must be understood that neither by word nor deed had I
given Fortunato cause to doubt my good will. I continued, as was
my wont, to smile in his face, and he did not perceive that my
smile now was at the thought of his immolation.
He had a weak point--this Fortunato--although in other regards
he was a man to be respected and even feared. He prided himself on
his connoisseurship in wine. Few Italians have the true virtuoso
|
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Allan Quatermain by H. Rider Haggard: when he heard this, and so indeed did we, for we had had quite
enough of the Masai to last us for some time. Indeed, the general
opinion was that, finding we had reached the mission station
in safety, they had, knowing its strength, given up the pursuit
of us as a bad job. How ill-judged that view was the sequel
will show.
After the spies had gone, and Mrs Mackenzie and Flossie had retired
for the night, Alphonse, the little Frenchman, came out, and
Sir Henry, who is a very good French scholar, got him to tell
us how he came to visit Central Africa, which he did in a most
extraordinary lingo, that for the most part I shall not attempt
Allan Quatermain |
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 Babbitt by Sinclair Lewis: in for a conference at eleven-thirty, naturally he had to offer them cigars.
His conscience protested, "Why, you're smoking with them!" but he bullied it,
"Oh, shut up! I'm busy now. Of course by-and-by--" There was no by-and-by,
yet his belief that he had crushed the unclean habit made him feel noble and
very happy. When he called up Paul Riesling he was, in his moral splendor,
unusually eager.
He was fonder of Paul Riesling than of any one on earth except himself and his
daughter Tinka. They had been classmates, roommates, in the State University,
but always he thought of Paul Riesling, with his dark slimness, his precisely
parted hair, his nose-glasses, his hesitant speech, his moodiness, his love of
music, as a younger brother, to be petted and protected. Paul had gone into
|
