| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Secret Sharer by Joseph Conrad: dared do for him in that respect.
Every day there was the horrible maneuvering to go through so that my room
and then the bathroom should be done in the usual way. I came to hate
the sight of the steward, to abhor the voice of that harmless man.
I felt that it was he who would bring on the disaster of discovery.
It hung like a sword over our heads.
The fourth day out, I think (we were then working down the east side
of the Gulf of Siam, tack for tack, in light winds and smooth water)--
the fourth day, I say, of this miserable juggling with the unavoidable,
as we sat at our evening meal, that man, whose slightest movement
I dreaded, after putting down the dishes ran up on deck busily.
The Secret Sharer |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Life on the Mississippi by Mark Twain: was thin, and a mighty exultation showed through it.
He said he was cast for a part in Julius Caesar, for that night,
and if I should come I would see him. IF I should come!
I said I wouldn't miss it if I were dead.
I went away stupefied with astonishment, and saying to myself,
'How strange it is! WE always thought this fellow a fool;
yet the moment he comes to a great city, where intelligence
and appreciation abound, the talent concealed in this shabby
napkin is at once discovered, and promptly welcomed and honored.'
But I came away from the theater that night disappointed and offended;
for I had had no glimpse of my hero, and his name was not in the bills.
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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 Maid Marian by Thomas Love Peacock: one end would rest on the bank, and the other on the battlements,
and which, being well furnished with stepping boards, would enable
his men to ascend the inclined plane with speed and facility.
Matilda received intimation of this design by the usual friendly channel
of a blunt arrow, which must either have been sent from some secret
friend in the prince's camp, or from some vigorous archer beyond it:
the latter will not appear improbable, when we consider that Robin Hood
and Little John could shoot two English miles and an inch point-blank,
Come scrive Turpino, che non erra.
The machine was completed, and the ensuing morning fixed for the assault.
Six men, relieved at intervals, kept watch over it during the night.
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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 Tom Sawyer Abroad by Mark Twain: his tale that way, he seemed to be only sad; and he
says:
"Some people can see, and some can't -- just as
that man said. Let alone a camel, if a cyclone had
gone by, YOU duffers wouldn't 'a' noticed the
track."
I don't know what he meant by that, and he didn't
say; it was just one of his irrulevances, I reckon -- he
was full of them, sometimes, when he was in a close
place and couldn't see no other way out -- but I didn't
mind. We'd spotted the soft place in that tale sharp
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