| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from An Inland Voyage by Robert Louis Stevenson: heart at each mile, and racing as though it already smelt the sea.
The water was yellow and turbulent, swung with an angry eddy among
half-submerged willows, and made an angry clatter along stony
shores. The course kept turning and turning in a narrow and well-
timbered valley. Now the river would approach the side, and run
griding along the chalky base of the hill, and show us a few open
colza-fields among the trees. Now it would skirt the garden-walls
of houses, where we might catch a glimpse through a doorway, and
see a priest pacing in the chequered sunlight. Again, the foliage
closed so thickly in front, that there seemed to be no issue; only
a thicket of willows, overtopped by elms and poplars, under which
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Kwaidan by Lafcadio Hearn: the little creature in meeting and overcoming difficulties of a totally new
kind, and in adapting itself to conditions entirely foreign to its
experience, proves a considerable power of independent thinking. But this
at least is certain: that the ant has no individuality capable of being
exercised in a purely selfish direction;-- I am using the word "selfish" in
its ordinary acceptation. A greedy ant, a sensual ant, an ant capable of
any one of the seven deadly sins, or even of a small venial sin, is
unimaginable. Equally unimaginable, of course, a romantic ant, an
ideological ant, a poetical ant, or an ant inclined to metaphysical
speculations. No human mind could attain to the absolute matter-of-fact
quality of the ant-mind;-- no human being, as now constituted, could
Kwaidan |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Mistress Wilding by Rafael Sabatini: yesterday, in fact - fled the country to escape the rearrest ordered in
consequence of that excessive joy. Like his more famous cousin, Nick
Trenchard was one of the Duke of Monmouth's most active agents; and
Westmacott, like Wilding, Vallancey, and one or two others at that
board, stood, too, committed to the cause of the Protestant Champion.
Out of his knowledge of the boy Trenchard was led to fear that if he
were leniently dealt with now, tomorrow, when, sober, he came to
realize the grossness of the thing he had done and the unlikelihood
of its being forgiven him, there was no saying but that to protect
himself he might betray Wilding's share in the plot that was being
hatched. That in itself would be bad enough; but there might be worse,
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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 Black Beauty by Anna Sewell: suffer pain; I wish I may drop down dead at my work, and not be sent off
to the knackers."
I was very much troubled, and I put my nose up to hers,
but I could say nothing to comfort her. I think she was pleased to see me,
for she said, "You are the only friend I ever had."
Just then her driver came up, and with a tug at her mouth backed her
out of the line and drove off, leaving me very sad indeed.
A short time after this a cart with a dead horse in it passed our cab-stand.
The head hung out of the cart-tail, the lifeless tongue was slowly
dropping with blood; and the sunken eyes! but I can't speak of them,
the sight was too dreadful. It was a chestnut horse with a long, thin neck.
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