| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Man in Lower Ten by Mary Roberts Rinehart: mister had gone to church; hasn't missed a day since he took the
pledge nine years ago. And on the way I met two people, a man and
a woman. They looked half dead, so I sent them right here for
breakfast and some soap and water. I always say soap is better
than liquor after a shock."
Hotchkiss was listening absently: McKnight was whistling under his
breath, staring down across the field to where a break in the woods
showed a half dozen telegraph poles, the line of the railroad.
"It must have been twelve o'clock when we got back; I wanted the
children to see everything, because it isn't likely they'll ever
see another wreck like that. Rows of - "
The Man in Lower Ten |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte: pushed its point between my teeth: but, for my part, I was never
much afraid of his vagaries. I spat out, and affirmed it tasted
detestably - I would not take it on any account.
'Oh!' said he, releasing me, 'I see that hideous little villain is
not Hareton: I beg your pardon, Nell. If it be, he deserves
flaying alive for not running to welcome me, and for screaming as
if I were a goblin. Unnatural cub, come hither! I'll teach thee
to impose on a good-hearted, deluded father. Now, don't you think
the lad would be handsomer cropped? It makes a dog fiercer, and I
love something fierce - get me a scissors - something fierce and
trim! Besides, it's infernal affectation - devilish conceit it is,
Wuthering Heights |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from The Song of Hiawatha by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow: Forth went Shingebis, the diver,
Wrestled all night with the North-Wind,
Wrestled naked on the moorlands
With the fierce Kabibonokka,
Till his panting breath grew fainter,
Till his frozen grasp grew feebler,
Till he reeled and staggered backward,
And retreated, baffled, beaten,
To the kingdom of Wabasso,
To the land of the White Rabbit,
Hearing still the gusty laughter,
|
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 Gobseck by Honore de Balzac: " 'Daddy Gobseck,' I began, 'is intimately convinced of the truth of
the principle which he takes for a rule of life. In his opinion, money
is a commodity which you may sell cheap or dear, according to
circumstances, with a clear conscience. A capitalist, by charging a
high rate of interest, becomes in his eyes a secured partner by
anticipation. Apart from the peculiar philosophical views of human
nature and financial principles, which enable him to behave like a
usurer, I am fully persuaded that, out of his business, he is the most
loyal and upright soul in Paris. There are two men in him; he is petty
and great--a miser and a philosopher. If I were to die and leave a
family behind me, he would be the guardian whom I should appoint. This
Gobseck |
