| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Gift of the Magi by O. Henry: are wisest. They are the magi.
End of this Project Gutenberg Etext of THE GIFT OF THE MAGI.
The Gift of the Magi |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from My Aunt Margaret's Mirror by Walter Scott: Forester, with his handsome person, elegant accomplishments, and
fashionable manners, married the younger Miss Falconer of King's
Copland. The elder sister of this lady had previously become the
wife of my grandfather, Sir Geoffrey Bothwell, and brought into
our family a good fortune. Miss Jemima, or Miss Jemmie Falconer,
as she was usually called, had also about ten thousand pounds
sterling--then thought a very handsome portion indeed.
The two sisters were extremely different, though each had their
admirers while they remained single. Lady Bothwell had some
touch of the old King's Copland blood about her. She was bold,
though not to the degree of audacity, ambitious, and desirous to
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| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Tom Sawyer, Detective by Mark Twain: was to make a plan; and we done it. We would do up the
paper again, just as it was, and slip in, very elaborate
and soft, and lay it on the bunk again, and let on WE
didn't know about any trick, and hadn't any idea he was
a-laughing at us behind them bogus snores of his'n; and we
would stick by him, and the first night we was ashore we
would get him drunk and search him, and get the di'monds;
and DO for him, too, if it warn't too risky. If we got
the swag, we'd GOT to do for him, or he would hunt us down
and do for us, sure. But I didn't have no real hope.
I knowed we could get him drunk--he was always ready
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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 Apology by Xenophon: "No," he added, "God knows I shall display no ardent zeal to bring
that about.[19] On the contrary, if by proclaiming all the blessings
which I owe to god and men; if, by blazoning forth the opinion which I
entertain with regard to myself, I end by wearying the court, even so
will I choose death rather than supplicate in servile sort for leave
to live a little longer merely to gain a life impoverished in place of
death."
[19] Or, "I will give no helping hand to that."
It was in this determination, Hermogenes states, that, when the
prosecution accused him of not recognising the gods recognised by the
state, but introducing novel divinities and corrupting the young,
The Apology |
