| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Ten Years Later by Alexandre Dumas: committed an indiscretion which had certainly affected her
companion, for Mademoiselle de la Valliere, less clear
sighted, perhaps, turned pale when the king blushed; and her
attendance being required upon Madame, she tremblingly
followed the princess without thinking of taking the gloves,
which court etiquette required her to do. True it is that
this young country girl might allege as her excuse the
agitation into which the king seemed to be thrown, for
Mademoiselle de la Valliere, busily engaged in closing the
door, had involuntarily fixed her eyes upon the king, who,
as he retired backwards, had his face towards it. The king
Ten Years Later |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Whirligigs by O. Henry: home without you. I have half a million dollars. If that
and the true affection of a heart no lonoer in its youthful
prime, but still not cold, could -- "
"I found out what made it cold," said Mrs. Widdup,
leanin' against his chair. "'Twas ice -- tons of it --
in the basement and in the furnace room, everywhere. I
shut off the registers that it was coming through into your
room, Mr. Coulson, poor soul! And now it's Maytime
again."
"A true heart," went on old man Coulson, a little
wanderingly, "that the springtime has brought to life
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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 Pocket Diary Found in the Snow by Grace Isabel Colbron and Augusta Groner: buildings opened and a man came out into the silent street.
It was Ludwig Amster, one of the working-men in the factory,
starting on his homeward way. It was not a pleasant road, this
street along the edge of the city. The town showed itself from
its most disagreeable side here, with malodorous factories,
rickety tenements, untidy open stretches and dumping grounds
offensive both to eye and nostril.
Even by day the street that Amster took was empty; by night it
was absolutely quiet and dark, as dark as were the thoughts of the
solitary man. He walked along, brooding over his troubles.
Scarcely an hour before he had been discharged from the factory
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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 Lysis by Plato: his goodness than for his beauty. We left them, and went over to the
opposite side of the room, where, finding a quiet place, we sat down; and
then we began to talk. This attracted Lysis, who was constantly turning
round to look at us--he was evidently wanting to come to us. For a time he
hesitated and had not the courage to come alone; but first of all, his
friend Menexenus, leaving his play, entered the Palaestra from the court,
and when he saw Ctesippus and myself, was going to take a seat by us; and
then Lysis, seeing him, followed, and sat down by his side; and the other
boys joined. I should observe that Hippothales, when he saw the crowd, got
behind them, where he thought that he would be out of sight of Lysis, lest
he should anger him; and there he stood and listened.
Lysis |
