| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from When a Man Marries by Mary Roberts Rinehart: the disappointment was too awful. "Dallas, DON'T open that door!"
Dal swung his feet and smiled from Bella to me.
"Think what a solution it is to all our difficulties," he said
easily. "Without Aunt Selina I could be happy here indefinitely."
There was more knocking, and somebody--Max, I think--said to let
them in, that it was a fool thing anyhow, and that he wanted to
go to bed and forget it; his feet were cold. And just then there
was a crash, and part of one of the windows fell in. The next
blow from outside brought the rest of the glass, and--somebody
was coming through, feet first. It was Jim.
He did not speak to any of us, but turned and helped in a bundle
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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 Ebb-Tide by Stevenson & Osbourne: produced note paper, stamped envelopes, and pencils, three of
each. 'We can all write home by the mail brigantine; the consul
says I can come over to his place and ink up the addresses.'
'Well, that's a start, too,' said the clerk. 'I never thought of
that.'
'It was that yarning last night about going home that put me
up to it,' said the captain.
'Well, 'and over,' said the clerk. 'I'll 'ave a shy,' and he
retired a little distance to the shade of a canoe.
The others remained under the purao. Now they would write
a word or two, now scribble it out; now they would sit biting at
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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 The Apology by Xenophon: sound of body, and his soul still capable of friendly repose, fades
tranquilly away."
[1] Or, "Socrates' Defence before the Dicasts." For the title of the
work see Grote, "H. G." viii. 641; Schneid. ap. L. Dindorf's note
{pros tous dikastas}, ed. Ox. 1862, and Dindorf's own note; L.
Schmitz, "On the Apology of Socrates, commonly attributed to
Xenophon," "Class. Mus." v. 222 foll.; G. Sauppe, "Praef." vol.
iii. p. 117, ed. ster.; J. J. Hartman, "An. Xen." p. 111 foll.; E.
Richter, "Xen. Stud." pp. 61-96; M. Schanz, "Platos Apologia."
[2] Or possibly, "his deliberate behaviour."
[3] Or, "have succeeded in hitting off"; "done full justice to."
The Apology |
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 Father Damien by Robert Louis Stevenson: Reverend H. B. Gage.
You may ask on what authority I speak. It was my inclement destiny
to become acquainted, not with Damien, but with Dr. Hyde. When I
visited the lazaretto, Damien was already in his resting grave.
But such information as I have, I gathered on the spot in
conversation with those who knew him well and long: some indeed who
revered his memory; but others who had sparred and wrangled with
him, who beheld him with no halo, who perhaps regarded him with
small respect, and through whose unprepared and scarcely partial
communications the plain, human features of the man shone on me
convincingly. These gave me what knowledge I possess; and I learnt
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