| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Two Poets by Honore de Balzac: smiles appeared after a delay, like the explosion of a shell which has
entered the earth and worked up again. His respect for his wife,
moreover, almost amounted to adoration. And so long as we can adore,
is there not happiness enough in life? Anais' husband was as docile as
a child who asks nothing better than to be told what to do; and,
generous and clever woman as she was, she had taken no undue advantage
of his weaknesses. She had taken care of him as you take care of a
cloak; she kept him brushed, neat, and tidy, looked closely after him,
and humored him; and humored, looked after, brushed, kept tidy, and
cared for, M. de Bargeton had come to feel an almost dog-like
affection for his wife. It is so easy to give happiness that costs
|
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Land that Time Forgot by Edgar Rice Burroughs: have none of me, and so I was not only thirsty but otherwise sad
and downhearted. I was glad when the new day broke the hideous
spell of a sleepless night.
The morning's search brought us no shred of hope. Caprona was
impregnable--that was the decision of all; yet we kept on. It must
have been about two bells of the afternoon watch that Bradley called
my attention to the branch of a tree, with leaves upon it, floating
on the sea. "It may have been carried down to the ocean by a river,"
he suggested.
"Yes, " I replied, "it may have; it may have tumbled or been thrown
off the top of one of these cliffs."
The Land that Time Forgot |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from The Mad King by Edgar Rice Burroughs: comer, he sprang to his feet, saluting.
"Turn out the guard!" he cried. "Turn out the guard for
his majesty, the king!"
The sleeping soldiers, but half awake, scrambled to their
feet, their muscles reacting to the command that their brains
but half perceived. They snatched their guns from the racks
and formed a line behind the corporal. The king raised his
fingers to the vizor of his helmet in acknowledgment of their
salute.
"Saddle up quietly, corporal," he said. "We shall ride to
Lustadt tonight."
The Mad King |
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 Virginian by Owen Wister: have quickly warmed to them; but Dr. MacBride sat among us,
giving occasional heavy ha-ha's, which produced, as Miss Molly
Wood whispered to me, a "dreadfully cavernous effect." Was it his
sermon, we wondered, that he was thinking over? I told her of the
copious sheaf of them I had seen him pull from his wallet over at
the foreman's. "Goodness!" said she. "Then are we to hear one
every evening?" This I doubted; he had probably been picking one
out suitable for the occasion. "Putting his best foot foremost,"
was her comment; "I suppose they have best feet, like the rest of
us." Then she grew delightfully sharp. "Do you know, when I first
heard him I thought his voice was hearty. But if you listen,
The Virginian |
