| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Octopus by Frank Norris: trees and shrubbery, creeping on his belly toward the house, in
the suburbs of Bonneville, watching his chances, seizing
opportunities, spying upon the lighted windows where the raised
curtains afforded a view of the interior. Then had come the
appearance in the glare of the gas of the figure of the man for
whom he waited. He saw himself rise and run forward. He
remembered the feel and weight in his hand of Caraher's bomb--the
six inches of plugged gas pipe. His upraised arm shot forward.
There was a shiver of smashed window-panes, then--a void--a red
whirl of confusion, the air rent, the ground rocking, himself
flung headlong, flung off the spinning circumference of things
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Koran: their father was a righteous man, and their Lord desired that they
should reach puberty, and then take out their treasure as a mercy from
thy Lord; and I did it not on my own bidding. That is the
interpretation of what thou couldst not have patience with.'
And they will ask thee about DHU 'I Qarnain, say, 'I will recite
to you a mention of him; verily, we stablished for him in the earth,
and we gave him a way to everything; and he followed a way until
when he reached the setting of the sun, he found it setting in a black
muddy spring and he found thereat a people.'
We said, 'O DHU 'l Qarnain! thou mayest either torment these people,
or treat them well.' Said he, 'As for him who does wrong, I will
The Koran |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Historical Lecturers and Essays by Charles Kingsley: wildly and fantastically, to become an angel and not an ape, I will
say the hermit, and not the Caesar, is the civilised man.
There are plenty of histories of civilisation and theories of
civilisation abroad in the world just now, and which profess to show
you how the primeval savage has, or at least may have, become the
civilised man. For my part, with all due and careful consideration,
I confess I attach very little value to any of them: and for this
simple reason that we have no facts. The facts are lost.
Of course, if you assume a proposition as certainly true, it is easy
enough to prove that proposition to be true, at least to your own
satisfaction. If you assert with the old proverb, that you may make
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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 Laches by Plato: say whatever you like, and do not mind about the difference of our ages.
SOCRATES: I cannot say that either of you show any reluctance to take
counsel and advise with me.
LYSIMACHUS: But this is our proper business; and yours as well as ours,
for I reckon you as one of us. Please then to take my place, and find out
from Nicias and Laches what we want to know, for the sake of the youths,
and talk and consult with them: for I am old, and my memory is bad; and I
do not remember the questions which I am going to ask, or the answers to
them; and if there is any interruption I am quite lost. I will therefore
beg of you to carry on the proposed discussion by your selves; and I will
listen, and Melesias and I will act upon your conclusions.
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