| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Charmides and Other Poems by Oscar Wilde: (That sweet repentance of the thorny briar!)
Burst from its sheathed emerald and disclose
The little quivering disk of golden fire
Which the bees know so well, for with it come
Pale boy's-love, sops-in-wine, and daffadillies all in bloom.
Then up and down the field the sower goes,
While close behind the laughing younker scares
With shrilly whoop the black and thievish crows,
And then the chestnut-tree its glory wears,
And on the grass the creamy blossom falls
In odorous excess, and faint half-whispered madrigals
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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 Secrets of the Princesse de Cadignan by Honore de Balzac: that a man passes without remorse from the position of confidant to
that of rival, and d'Arthez was free to do so without dishonor. He had
suddenly, in a moment, perceived the enormous differences existing
between a well-bred woman, that flower of the great world, and common
women, though of the latter he did not know beyond one specimen. He
was thus captured on the most accessible and sensitive sides of his
soul and of his genius. Impelled by his simplicity, and by the
impetuosity of his ideas, to lay immediate claim to this woman, he
found himself restrained by society, also by the barrier which the
manners and, let us say the word, the majesty of the princess placed
between them. The conversation, which remained upon the topic of
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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 A Pair of Blue Eyes by Thomas Hardy: for her pony, and how the last kiss he ever gave her was given a
mile out of the town, on the way to Endelstow.
These things Stephen related with a will. He believed that in
doing so he established word by word the reasonableness of his
claim to Elfride.
'Curse her! curse that woman!--that miserable letter that parted
us! O God!'
Knight began pacing the room again, and uttered this at further
end.
'What did you say?' said Stephen, turning round.
'Say? Did I say anything? Oh, I was merely thinking about your
A Pair of Blue Eyes |
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 Land of Footprints by Stewart Edward White: By all means shoot one lion, or two, or three in the safest
fashion you can. But after that you ought to play the game.
The surest way to get a lion is to kill a zebra, cut holes in
him, fill the holes with strychnine, and come back next morning.
This method is absolutely safe.
The next safest way is to follow the quarry with a pack of
especially trained dogs. The lion is so busy and nervous over
those dogs that you can walk up and shoot him in the ear. This
method has the excitement of riding and following, the joy of a
grand and noisy row, and the fun of seeing a good dog-fight. The
same effect can be got chasing wart-hogs, hyenas, jackals-or
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