| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Juana by Honore de Balzac: judged him as the government judged him and as he judged himself.
Diard, grievously wounded on the battlefield, was nevertheless not
decorated; the quartermaster, rich as he was, was allowed no place in
public life, and society logically refused him that to which he
pretended in its midst.
Finally, to cap all, the luckless man felt in his own home the
superiority of his wife. Though she used great tact--we might say
velvet softness if the term were admissible--to disguise from her
husband this supremacy, which surprised and humiliated herself, Diard
ended by being affected by it.
At a game of life like this men are either unmanned, or they grow the
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from A Legend of Montrose by Walter Scott: so laudable an employment, and took his leave without farther
ceremony.
Lord Menteith's two attendants entered the apartment almost
immediately after his departure. The good Captain, who was now
somewhat encumbered with his good cheer, began to find the
undoing of the clasps of his armour a task somewhat difficult,
and addressed Anderson in these words, interrupted by a slight
hiccup,--"Anderson, my good friend, you may read in Scripture,
that he that putteth off his armour should not boast himself like
he that putteth it on--I believe that is not the right word of
command; but the plain truth of it is, I am like to sleep in my
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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 Protagoras by Plato: I know it.
And do you think, he said, that the two sayings are consistent?
Yes, I said, I think so (at the same time I could not help fearing that
there might be something in what he said). And you think otherwise?
Why, he said, how can he be consistent in both? First of all, premising as
his own thought, 'Hardly can a man become truly good'; and then a little
further on in the poem, forgetting, and blaming Pittacus and refusing to
agree with him, when he says, 'Hardly can a man be good,' which is the very
same thing. And yet when he blames him who says the same with himself, he
blames himself; so that he must be wrong either in his first or his second
assertion.
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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 Tragedy of Pudd'nhead Wilson by Mark Twain: "What makes you think she's the thief?"
"Well, there ain't any other, for one thing; and for another,
some nigger draymen that happened to be driving along saw her coming
out of or going into houses, and told me so--and it just happens that
they was _robbed_, every time."
It was granted that this was plenty good enough circumstantial evidence.
A pensive silence followed, which lasted some moments, then Wilson said:
"There's one good thing, anyway. She can't either pawn or sell
Count Luigi's costly Indian dagger."
"My!" said Tom. "Is _that_ gone?"
"Yes."
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