| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Democracy In America, Volume 1 by Alexis de Toqueville: motives of continuous endeavor. It may save the State in
critical circumstances, but it will not unfrequently allow the
nation to decline in the midst of peace. Whilst the manners of a
people are simple and its faith unshaken, whilst society is
steadily based upon traditional institutions whose legitimacy has
never been contested, this instinctive patriotism is wont to
endure.
But there is another species of attachment to a country
which is more rational than the one we have been describing. It
is perhaps less generous and less ardent, but it is more fruitful
and more lasting; it is coeval with the spread of knowledge, it
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from A Legend of Montrose by Walter Scott: understand, are unintelligible to the ears of any cavaliero
accustomed to civilised warfare. So that, were I undertaking to
discipline such a breechless mob, it were impossible for me to be
understood; and if I were understood, judge ye, my lord, what
chance I had of being obeyed among a band of half salvages, who
are accustomed to pay to their own lairds and chiefs, allenarly,
that respect and obedience whilk ought to be paid to
commissionate officers. If I were teaching them to form battalia
by extracting the square root, that is, by forming your square
battalion of equal number of men of rank and file, corresponding
to the square root of the full number present, what return could
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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 Bucky O'Connor by William MacLeod Raine: gave it up. The first night, about dusk, the pursuers were
without knowing it so warm that one of the bandits lay with his
rifle on a rock rim not a stone's throw above them as they wound
through a little ravine. But Collins got no glimpse of the
robbers. At last he reluctantly gave the word to turn back.
Probably the men he wanted had already slipped down to the plains
and across to Mexico. If not, they might play hide and seek with
him a month in the recesses of these unknown mountains.
Next morning the sheriff struck a telephone wire, tapped it, got
Sabin on the line, told him of his failure and that he was
returning to Tucson. About the middle of the afternoon the
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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 The Time Machine by H. G. Wells: Correspondent in the Day after To-morrow reports,' the Journalist
was saying--or rather shouting--when the Time Traveller came
back. He was dressed in ordinary evening clothes, and nothing
save his haggard look remained of the change that had startled
me.
`I say,' said the Editor hilariously, `these chaps here say
you have been travelling into the middle of next week! Tell us
all about little Rosebery, will you? What will you take for the
lot?'
The Time Traveller came to the place reserved for him without
a word. He smiled quietly, in his old way. `Where's my mutton?'
The Time Machine |
