| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Bucolics by Virgil: Is Corydon still Corydon with us.
ECLOGUE VIII
TO POLLIO DAMON ALPHESIBOEUS
Of Damon and Alphesiboeus now,
Those shepherd-singers at whose rival strains
The heifer wondering forgot to graze,
The lynx stood awe-struck, and the flowing streams,
Unwonted loiterers, stayed their course to hear-
How Damon and Alphesiboeus sang
Their pastoral ditties, will I tell the tale.
Thou, whether broad Timavus' rocky banks
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Man that Corrupted Hadleyburg by Mark Twain: comforting thing to say, and presently came out with this:
"But after all, Mary, it must be for the best--it must be; we know
that. And we must remember that it was so ordered--"
"Ordered! Oh, everything's ORDERED, when a person has to find some
way out when he has been stupid. Just the same, it was ORDERED that
the money should come to us in this special way, and it was you that
must take it on yourself to go meddling with the designs of
Providence--and who gave you the right? It was wicked, that is what
it was--just blasphemous presumption, and no more becoming to a meek
and humble professor of--"
"But, Mary, you know how we have been trained all our lives long,
The Man that Corrupted Hadleyburg |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from The Complete Angler by Izaak Walton: season; for it may be observed of the Trout, that he is like the Buck or
the Ox, that will not be fat in many months, though he go in the very
same pastures that horses do, which will be fat in one month: and so
you may observe, That most other fishes recover strength, and grow
sooner fat and in season than the Trout doth.
And next you are to note, That till the sun gets to such a height as to
warm the earth and the water, the Trout is sick, and lean, and lousy, and
unwholesome; for you shall, in winter, find him to have a big head, and,
then, to be lank and thin and lean; at which time many of them have
sticking on them Sugs, or Trout-lice; which is a kind of a worm, in
shape like a clove, or pin with a big head, and sticks close to him, and
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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 Contrast by Royall Tyler: utation, as evidenced in his treatment of his plays,
characterized his conduct throughout life with respect
to his other works; so that, of the many productions of
his pen that have been printed, the only one that bears
his name upon the title-page is a set of Vermont Law
Reports. And though early in life he acquired among
literary circles a reputation as a witty and graceful
writer of poetry and prose, it is doubtful whether he
benefited much by his writings, either pecuniarily or
in popularity, as an author. They were undoubtedly
the recreation of his leisure moments, and though
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