The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Woman and Labour by Olive Schreiner: and the individual, whether male or female, an intense love of dress and
meretricious external adornment is almost invariably the concomitant and
outcome of parasitism. Were the parasite female class in our own societies
today to pass away, French fashions with their easeless and grotesque
variations (shaped not for use or beauty, but the attracting of attention)
would die out. And the extent to which any woman today, not herself
belonging to the parasite class and still labouring, attempts to follow
afar off the fashions of the parasite, may be taken generally as an almost
certain indication of the ease with which she would accept parasitism were
its conditions offered her. The tendency of the cultured and
intellectually labouring woman of today to adopt a more rational type of
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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 The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton: to take in the situation thus suddenly lighted up for
him, and M. Riviere also remained silent, as if aware
that what he had said was enough.
"A special mission," Archer at length repeated.
The young Frenchman, opening his palms, raised
them slightly, and the two men continued to look at
each other across the office-desk till Archer roused
himself to say: "Do sit down"; whereupon M. Riviere
bowed, took a distant chair, and again waited.
"It was about this mission that you wanted to
consult me?" Archer finally asked.
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