| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Jude the Obscure by Thomas Hardy: She described what an odd little maid Sue had been when
a pupil at the village school across the green opposite,
before her father went to London--how, when the vicar arranged
readings and recitations, she appeared on the platform,
the smallest of them all, "in her little white frock,
and shoes, and pink sash"; how she recited "Excelsior,"
"There was a sound of revelry by night," and "The Raven";
how during the delivery she would knit her little brows and glare
round tragically, and say to the empty air, as if some real
creature stood there--
"Ghastly, grim, and ancient Raven, wandering from the Nightly shore,
Jude the Obscure |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Paradise Lost by John Milton: His triple-coloured bow, whereon to look,
And call to mind his covenant: Day and night,
Seed-time and harvest, heat and hoary frost,
Shall hold their course; till fire purge all things new,
Both Heaven and Earth, wherein the just shall dwell.
Book XII
Paradise Lost |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Bucky O'Connor by William MacLeod Raine: reserve that bulletin as a regrettable possibility in the event
that less drastic measures fail."
"Which means, I infer, that you have need of me before I pass by
the Socratic method," he suggested, still with that pale smile
set in granite "I shall depend on you to let me know at what
precise hour you would like to order an epitaph written for me.
Say the word at your convenience, and within five minutes your
bulletin concerning the late governor will have the merit of
truth."
"Begad, excellency, I like your spirit. If it's my say-so, you
will live to be a hundred. Come the cards are against you. Some
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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 Mayflower Compact: file
containing them all, in order to improve the content ratios of
Etext
to header material.
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#STARTMARK#
The Mayflower Compact
November 11, 1620 [This was November 21, old style calendar]
In the name of God, Amen. We, whose names are underwritten,
the Loyal Subjects of our dread Sovereigne Lord, King James,
by the Grace of God, of Great Britaine, France, and Ireland,
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