| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Schoolmistress and Other Stories by Anton Chekhov: succession, and are suddenly cut short by a violent thunderstorm
and a lavish downpour of rain that refreshes everything for a
long time.
The sun had set some time before, and an unbroken gray dusk lay
all over the land. The mawkishly sweet scents of the grass and
flowers were heavy in the motionless, stagnant air.
I was driving in a rough trolley. Behind my back the gardener's
son Pashka, a boy of eight years old, whom I had taken with me to
look after the horse in case of necessity, was gently snoring,
with his head on a sack of oats. Our way lay along a narrow
by-road, straight as a ruler, which lay hid like a great snake in
The Schoolmistress and Other Stories |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from On Horsemanship by Xenophon: [7] Lit. "as defences or protective bulwarks."
[8] Insects, etc.
Mane, forelock, and tail are triple gifts bestowed by the gods upon
the horse for the sake of pride and ornament,[9] and here is the
proof: a brood mare, so long as her mane is long and flowing, will not
readily suffer herself to be covered by an ass; hence breeders of
mules take care to clip the mane of the mare with a view to
covering.[10]
[9] {aglaias eneka} (a poetic word). Cf. "Od." xv. 78; xvii. 310.
[10] For this belief Schneid. cf Aristot. "H. A." vi. 18; Plin. viii.
42; Aelian, "H. A." ii. 10, xi. 18, xii. 16, to which Dr. Morgan
On Horsemanship |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from The Purse by Honore de Balzac: Who has not known what it is to sit lost in sad or delicious
meditation, listening to its voice within, while attending to a
conversation or to reading? An admirable duality which often
helps us to tolerate a bore! Hope, prolific and smiling, poured
out before him a thousand visions of happiness; and he refused to
consider what was going on around him. As confiding as a child,
it seemed to him base to analyze a pleasure.
After a short lapse of time he perceived that the old lady and
her daughter were playing cards with the old gentleman. As to the
satellite, faithful to his function as a shadow, he stood behind
his friend's chair watching his game, and answering the player's
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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 Damaged Goods by Upton Sinclair: learned about the nature and habits of men; things that should be
told to every girl before marriage, but which almost all of them
are left to find out afterwards, with terrible suffering and
disillusionment. Whatever George's sins may have been, he was a
man who had been chastened by suffering, and would know how to
value a woman's love for the rest of his life. Not all men knew
that--not even those who had been fortunate in escaping from the
so-called "shameful disease."
Henriette was also hearing arguments from her father, who by this
time had had time to think things over, and had come to the
conclusion that the doctor was right. He had noted his son-in-
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