| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Prufrock/Other Observations by T. S. Eliot: Lingered upon the pools that stand in drains,
Let fall upon its back the soot that falls from chimneys,
Slipped by the terrace, made a sudden leap,
And seeing that it was a soft October night,
Curled once about the house, and fell asleep.
And indeed there will be time
For the yellow smoke that slides along the street,
Rubbing its back upon the window-panes;
There will be time, there will be time
To prepare a face to meet the faces that you meet;
There will be time to murder and create,
Prufrock/Other Observations |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas: "There is not a hope," replied Faria, shaking his head, "but
no matter; God wills it that man whom he has created, and in
whose heart he has so profoundly rooted the love of life,
should do all in his power to preserve that existence,
which, however painful it may be, is yet always so dear."
"Oh, yes, yes!" exclaimed Dantes; "and I tell you that I
will save you yet."
"Well, then, try. The cold gains upon me. I feel the blood
flowing towards my brain. These horrible chills, which make
my teeth chatter and seem to dislocate my bones, begin to
pervade my whole frame; in five minutes the malady will
The Count of Monte Cristo |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from The Turn of the Screw by Henry James: I should have her as a matter of course at night, her small
white bed being already arranged, to that end, in my room.
What I had undertaken was the whole care of her, and she
had remained, just this last time, with Mrs. Grose only as
an effect of our consideration for my inevitable strangeness
and her natural timidity. In spite of this timidity--
which the child herself, in the oddest way in the world,
had been perfectly frank and brave about, allowing it,
without a sign of uncomfortable consciousness, with the deep,
sweet serenity indeed of one of Raphael's holy infants,
to be discussed, to be imputed to her, and to determine us--
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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 Call of the Wild by Jack London: and mystery of the cold and dark that was to them fear and
mystery. And that he should be stirred by it marked the
completeness with which he harked back through the ages of fire
and roof to the raw beginnings of life in the howling ages.
Seven days from the time they pulled into Dawson, they dropped
down the steep bank by the Barracks to the Yukon Trail, and pulled
for Dyea and Salt Water. Perrault was carrying despatches if
anything more urgent than those he had brought in; also, the
travel pride had gripped him, and he purposed to make the record
trip of the year. Several things favored him in this. The week's
rest had recuperated the dogs and put them in thorough trim. The
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