| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Lysis by Plato: Certainly not.
But say that the like is not the friend of the like in so far as he is
like; still the good may be the friend of the good in so far as he is good?
True.
But then again, will not the good, in so far as he is good, be sufficient
for himself? Certainly he will. And he who is sufficient wants nothing--
that is implied in the word sufficient.
Of course not.
And he who wants nothing will desire nothing?
He will not.
Neither can he love that which he does not desire?
Lysis |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Voice of the City by O. Henry: otony of it" she continued, "that palls. Drives,
dinners, theatres, balls, suppers, with the gilding of
superfluous wealth over it all. Sometimes the very
tinkle of the ice in my champagne glass nearly drives
me mad."
Mr. Parkenstacker looked ingenuously interested.
"I have always liked," he said, "to read and hear
about the ways of wealthy and fashionable folks. I
suppose I am a bit of a snob. But I like to have my
information accurate. Now, I had formed the opin-
ion that champagne is cooled in the bottle and not by
The Voice of the City |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Malbone: An Oldport Romance by Thomas Wentworth Higginson: silence, in which all joined him, while the wind howled and
whistled outside, and the barred windows shook.
Weary and restless with vain waiting, they looked from the
doorway at the weather. The door went back with a slam, and
the gust swooped down on them with that special blast that
always seems to linger just outside on such nights, ready for
the first head that shows itself. They closed the door upon
the flickering fire and the uncouth shadows within, and went
forth into the night. At first the solid blackness seemed to
lay a weight on their foreheads. There was absolutely nothing
to be seen but the two lights of the light-ship, glaring from
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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 Dynamiter by Robert Louis Stevenson and Fanny Van De Grift Stevenson: sorceress among the blacks; and they are all persuaded she
has come alive again in your agreeable person. Now, you will
have the goodness to keep up that fancy, if you please; and
to swear to them, on the authority of Hoodoo or whatever his
name may be, that I am from this moment quite a sacred
character.'
'I swear it,' said I, 'by my father's memory; and that is a
vow that I will never break.'
'I have considerably better hold on you than any oath,'
returned Sir George, with a chuckle; 'for you are not only an
escaped slave, but have, by your own account, a considerable
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