| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Faith of Men by Jack London: store, bare-headed and frantic, and shook his fist at the blink of
day that came over the southern sky-line. And on still, cold
nights he left his bed and stumbled into the frost, where he
assaulted the silence at the top of his lungs, as though it were
some tangible, sentiment thing that he might arouse; or he shouted
at the sleeping dogs till they howled and howled again. One shaggy
brute he brought into the post, playing that it was the new man
sent by Prentiss. He strove to make it sleep decently under
blankets at nights and to sit at table and eat as a man should; but
the beast, mere domesticated wolf that it was, rebelled, and sought
out dark corners and snarled and bit him in the leg, and was
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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 Hunting of the Snark by Lewis Carroll: poem. Humpty-Dumpty's theory, of two meanings packed into one word like a
portmanteau, seems to me the right explanation for all.
For instance, take the two words "fuming" and "furious." Make up your
mind that you will say both words, but leave it unsettled which you will say
first. Now open your mouth and speak. If your thoughts incline ever so
little towards "fuming," you will say "fuming-furious;" if they turn, by even
a hair's breadth, towards "furious," you will say "furious-fuming;" but if you
have the rarest of gifts, a perfectly balanced mind, you will say "frumious."
Supposing that, when Pistol uttered the well-known words--
"Under which king, Bezonian? Speak or die!"
Justice Shallow had felt certain that it was either William or Richard, but
The Hunting of the Snark |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz by L. Frank Baum: sure we need fear them no longer."
Once in a while they would come to a deep crack in the floor, which
made the way quite dangerous; but there was still enough oil in the
lanterns to give them light, and the cracks were not so wide but that
they were able to jump over them. Sometimes they had to climb over
heaps of loose rock, where Jim could scarcely drag the buggy. At such
times Dorothy, Zeb and the Wizard all pushed behind, and lifted the
wheels over the roughest places; so they managed, by dint of hard
work, to keep going. But the little party was both weary and
discouraged when at last, on turning a sharp corner, the wanderers
found themselves in a vast cave arching high over their heads and
Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz |
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 Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz by L. Frank Baum: girl accepting the box of rustles.
"You may need them, some time," he said, "and there is really no use
in my manufacturing these things unless somebody uses them."
"Why did you leave the surface of the earth?" enquired the Wizard.
"I could not help it. It is a sad story, but if you will try to
restrain your tears I will tell you about it. On earth I was a
manufacturer of Imported Holes for American Swiss Cheese, and I will
acknowledge that I supplied a superior article, which was in great
demand. Also I made pores for porous plasters and high-grade holes
for doughnuts and buttons. Finally I invented a new Adjustable
Post-hole, which I thought would make my fortune. I manufactured a
Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz |
