| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Michael Strogoff by Jules Verne: beyond the town of Diachinks, stretches a
wide plain, planted here and there with great
trees, principally pines and cedars. This part
of the steppe is usually occupied during the
warm season by Siberian shepherds, and their
numerous flocks. But now it might have been searched
in vain for one of its nomad inhabitants. Not that the
plain was deserted. It presented a most animated ap-
pearance.
There stood the Tartar tents; there Feofar-Khan, the
terrible Emir of Bokhara, was encamped; and there on the
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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 Sportsman by Xenophon: The Economist 1
On Horsemanship 1
The Sportsman 1
The Cavalry General 1
The Apology 1
On Revenues 1
The Hiero 1
The Agesilaus 1
The Polity of the Athenians and the Lacedaemonians 2
Text in brackets "{}" is my transliteration of Greek text into
English using an Oxford English Dictionary alphabet table. The
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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 Selected Writings of Guy De Maupassant by Guy De Maupassant: the same way, without ever experiencing the least inquietude. I
never had any fear at nights. The sight of a man, a marauder, or
a thief would have thrown me into a fit of anger, and I would
have rushed at him without any hesitation. Moreover, I was
armed--I had my revolver. But I did not touch it, for I was
anxious to resist that feeling of dread with which I was seized.
What was it? Was it a presentiment--that mysterious presentiment
which takes hold of the senses of men who have witnessed
something which, to them, is inexplicable? Perhaps? Who knows?
In proportion as I advanced, I felt my skin quiver more and more,
and when I was close to the wall, near the outhouses of my large
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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 Tales of the Klondyke by Jack London: the world our misery. At this all eyes turned to me, for it was
understood that I was a great traveler. 'It is seven hundred
miles,' said I, 'to Haines Mission by the sea, and every inch of
it snowshoe work. Give me the pick of your dogs and the best of
your grub, and I will go. And with me shall go Passuk.'
"To this they were agreed. But there arose one, Long Jeff, a
Yankee-man, big-boned and big-muscled. Also his talk was big.
He, too, was a mighty traveler, he said, born to the snowshoe and
bred up on buffalo milk. He would go with me, in case I fell by
the trail, that he might carry the word on to the Mission. I was
young, and I knew not Yankee-men. How was I to know that big talk
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