| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Macbeth by William Shakespeare: Of dyre Combustion, and confus'd Euents,
New hatch'd toth' wofull time.
The obscure Bird clamor'd the liue-long Night.
Some say, the Earth was Feuorous,
And did shake
Macb. 'Twas a rough Night
Lenox. My young remembrance cannot paralell
A fellow to it.
Enter Macduff.
Macd. O horror, horror, horror,
Tongue nor Heart cannot conceiue, nor name thee
Macbeth |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Damnation of Theron Ware by Harold Frederic: "Seek Him, and you shall find Him!" "Cling to Jesus,
and Him Crucified!"
The Rev. Theron Ware did not, with the others, descend from
the pulpit. Seated where he could not see Sister Soulsby,
he had failed utterly to be moved by the wave of enthusiasm
she had evoked. What he heard her say disappointed him.
He had expected from her more originality, more spice of
her own idiomatic, individual sort. He viewed with a cold
sense of aloofness the evidences of her success when they
began to come forward and abase themselves at the altar.
The instant resolve that, come what might, he would not go
The Damnation of Theron Ware |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from The Ebb-Tide by Stevenson & Osbourne: in the deep shadow of the house, the sick man raising from his
mat a head already defeatured by disease. The two tragic triflers
fled without hesitation for their boat, screaming on Taveeta to
make haste; they came aboard with all speed of oars, raised
anchor and crowded sail upon the ship with blows and curses, and
were at sea again--and again drunk--before sunset. A week after,
and the last of the two had been committed to the deep. Herrick
asked Taveeta where that island was, and he replied that, by
what he gathered of folks' talk as they went up together from
the beach, he supposed it must be one of the Paumotus. This
was in itself probable enough, for the Dangerous Archipelago
|
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 Merry Adventures of Robin Hood by Howard Pyle: overnight with merry company at the Blue Boar Inn, instead of going
straight to Ancaster. So, being vexed to his heart by this, he set forth
at dawn of day to seek Little John at the Blue Boar, or at least to meet
the yeoman on the way, and ease his heart of what he thought of the matter.
As thus he strode along in anger, putting together the words he would
use to chide Little John, he heard, of a sudden, loud and angry voices,
as of men in a rage, passing fell words back and forth from one to the other.
At this, Robin Hood stopped and listened. "Surely," quoth he to himself,
"that is Little John's voice, and he is talking in anger also.
Methinks the other is strange to my ears. Now Heaven forfend that my good
trusty Little John should have fallen into the hands of the King's rangers.
The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood |
