| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Kenilworth by Walter Scott: of expressions of deep and passionate attachment, which perhaps,
at that moment, were not altogether fictitious. The mingled
emotions which had at first overcome him had now given way to the
energetic vigour with which he had determined to support his
place in the Queen's favour; and never did he seem to Elizabeth
more eloquent, more handsome, more interesting, than while,
kneeling at her feet, he conjured her to strip him of all his
dower, but to leave him the name of her servant.--"Take from the
poor Dudley," he exclaimed, "all that your bounty has made him,
and bid him be the poor gentleman he was when your Grace first
shone on him; leave him no more than his cloak and his sword, but
Kenilworth |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from King Henry VI by William Shakespeare: Erroneous, mutinous, and unnatural,
This deadly quarrel daily doth beget!--
O boy, thy father gave thee life too soon,
And hath bereft thee of thy life too late!
KING HENRY.
Woe above woe! grief more than common grief!
O that my death would stay these ruthful deeds!--
O pity, pity! gentle heaven, pity!--
The red rose and the white are on his face,
The fatal colours of our striving houses;
The one his purple blood right well resembles,
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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 I Have A Dream by Martin Luther King, Jr.: go back to Louisiana, go back to the slums and ghettos of our
northern cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will
be changed. Let us not wallow in the valley of despair.
I say to you today, my friends, that in spite of the difficulties
and frustrations of the moment, I still have a dream. It is a
dream deeply rooted in the American dream.
I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out
the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be
self-evident: that all men are created equal."
I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons
of former slaves and the sons of former slaveowners will be able
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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 A Kidnapped Santa Claus by L. Frank Baum: This seemed such good and sensible advice that the others at once
resolved to adopt it. So Peter the Knook called to the reindeer, and
the faithful animals again sprang forward and dashed over hill and
valley, through forest and plain, until they came to the houses
wherein children lay sleeping and dreaming of the pretty gifts they
would find on Christmas morning.
The little immortals had set themselves a difficult task; for although
they had assisted Santa Claus on many of his journeys, their master
had always directed and guided them and told them exactly what he
wished them to do. But now they had to distribute the toys according
to their own judgment, and they did not understand children as well as
A Kidnapped Santa Claus |
