| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Adieu by Honore de Balzac: the village than he saw a blaze in the direction of the place where,
since morning, he had left his carriage in charge of his former
orderly, an old soldier. Horrible anxiety laid hold of him. Like all
others who were controlled during this fatal retreat by some powerful
sentiment, he found a strength to save his friends which he could not
have put forth to save himself.
Presently he reached a slight declivity at the foot of which, in a
spot sheltered from the enemy's balls, he had stationed the carriage,
containing a young woman, the companion of his childhood, the being
most dear to him on earth. At a few steps distant from the vehicle he
now found a company of some thirty stragglers collected around an
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Malbone: An Oldport Romance by Thomas Wentworth Higginson: some years before he personally entered on the scene.
The New York steamer, detained by the heavy fog of the night
before, now came in unwonted daylight up the bay. At the first
glimpse, Harry and the boys pushed off in the row-boat; for, as
one of the children said, anybody who had been to Venice would
naturally wish to come to the very house in a gondola. In
another half-hour there was a great entanglement of embraces at
the water-side, for the guests had landed.
Malbone's self-poised easy grace was the same as ever; his
chestnut-brown eyes were as winning, his features as handsome;
his complexion, too clearly pink for a man, had a sea bronze
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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 The Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx: innocence.
The fight of the German, and especially, of the Prussian
bourgeoisie,
against feudal aristocracy and absolute monarchy, in other words,
the liberal movement, became more earnest.
By this, the long wished-for opportunity was offered to "True"
Socialism of confronting the political movement with the
Socialist demands, of hurling the traditional anathemas against
liberalism, against representative government, against bourgeois
competition, bourgeois freedom of the press, bourgeois
legislation, bourgeois liberty and equality, and of preaching to
The Communist Manifesto |
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 Wyoming by William MacLeod Raine: and I believe that if we offer to mediate between its members and
the Government something might be done to stop the outrages that
have been terrorizing this country. My cousin can't be reached,
but I believe the rest of them, or, at least a part, can be
induced either to surrender or to flee the country. Anyhow, we
want to try it."
"But the danger?" she breathed.
"Is less than y'u think. Their leader has not anywhere nearly the
absolute power he had a few months ago. They would hardly dare do
violence to a peace envoy."
"Your cousin would. I don't believe he has any scruples."
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