| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass: An American Slave by Frederick Douglass: Columbia, and United States Minister to Haiti. His
other autobiographical works are MY BONDAGE AND
MY FREEDOM and LIFE AND TIMES OF FREDERICK
DOUGLASS, published in 1855 and 1881 respectively.
He died in 1895.
CHAPTER I
The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass: An American Slave |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Court Life in China by Isaac Taylor Headland: Being the brother of Kuang Hsu, and himself a progressive young
man, he ought to have the support of the Reform party, and being
the choice of the Empress Dowager, he will have the support of
the great progressive officials who have had the conduct of
affairs for the last quarter of a century and more, and
especially for the past ten years, since the Emperor Kuang Hsu
was deposed.
XII
The Home of the Court--The Forbidden City
The innermost enclosure is the Forbidden City and contains the
palace and its surrounding buildings. The wall is less solid and
|
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Tanglewood Tales by Nathaniel Hawthorne: of surprise, but found that he could merely grunt, and that, in
a word, he was just such another beast as his companions. It
looked so intolerably absurd to see hogs on cushioned thrones,
that they made haste to wallow down upon all fours, like other
swine. They tried to groan and beg for mercy, but forthwith
emitted the most awful grunting and squealing that ever came
out of swinish throats. They would have wrung their hands in
despair, but, attempting to do so, grew all the more desperate
for seeing themselves squatted on their hams, and pawing the
air with their fore trotters. Dear me! what pendulous ears they
had! what little red eyes, half buried in fat! and what long
Tanglewood Tales |
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 Betty Zane by Zane Grey: of old, and then down with a crash, a cloud of dust, and the crackling of pine
limbs. A long yell went up from the Indians below, while those above ran to
the edge of the cliff. With cries of wonder and baffled vengeance they
gesticulated toward the dark ravine into which horse and rider had plunged
rather than wait to meet a more cruel death. The precipice at this point is
over three hundred feet in height, and in places is almost perpendicular. We
believed the Major to be lying crushed and mangled on the rocks. Imagine our
frenzy of Joy when we saw the daring soldier and his horse dash out of the
bushes that skirt the base of the cliff, cross the creek, and come galloping
to the fort in safety."
"It was wonderful! Wonderful!" exclaimed Isaac, his eyes glistening. "No
Betty Zane |
