| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Running a Thousand Miles for Freedom by William and Ellen Craft: people, they are only trying to get us back to
slavery." She turned round and said, "I am
going right off." The old lady then came out, with
her sweet, soft, and winning smile, shook her heartily
by the hand, and kindly said, "How art thou, my
dear? We are all very glad to see thee and thy
husband. Come in, to the fire; I dare say thou art
cold and hungry after thy journey."
We went in, and the young ladies asked if she
would like to go upstairs and "fix" herself before
tea. My wife said, "No, I thank you; I shall only
Running a Thousand Miles for Freedom |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Market-Place by Harold Frederic: As likely as not he had even identified the concession,
and given Thorpe's name as that of the man who had first
impoverished and then mysteriously enriched him. At all events,
he had clearly mentioned that he had a commission to report
upon the Rubber Consols property, and had said enough
else to create the impression that there were criminal
secrets connected with its sale to the London Company.
The rest was easy. Gafferson, knowing Lord Plowden's
relation to the Company, had shown him Tavender's letter.
Lord Plowden, meditating upon it, had seen a way to be
nasty--and had vindictively plunged into it. He had brought
The Market-Place |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Camille by Alexandre Dumas: For the most of them, gambling was a necessity; for me, it was a
remedy. Free of Marguerite, I should have been free of gambling.
Thus, in the midst of all that, I preserved a considerable amount
of self-possession; I lost only what I was able to pay, and
gained only what I should have been able to lose.
For the rest, chance was on my side. I made no debts, and I spent
three times as much money as when I did not gamble. It was
impossible to resist an existence which gave me an easy means of
satisfying the thousand caprices of Marguerite. As for her, she
continued to love me as much, or even more than ever.
As I told you, I began by being allowed to stay only from
Camille |
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 Memorabilia by Xenophon: [4] Choir-master, or Director of the Chorus. It was his duty to
provide and preside over a chorus to sing, dance, or play at any
of the public festivals, defraying the cost as a state service of
{leitourgia}. See "Pol. Ath." iii. 4; "Hiero," ix. 4; Aristot.
"Pol. Ath." 28. 3.
Nic. Bless me! yes; but there is a wide difference between standing at
the head of a band of singers and dancers and a troop of soldiers.
Soc. Still, without any practical skill in singing or in the training
of a chorus, Antisthenes somehow had the art to select the greatest
proficients in both.
Nic. Yes, and by the same reasoning we are to infer that on a campaign
The Memorabilia |
