| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Maggie: A Girl of the Streets by Stephen Crane: She laughed. "What a damn fool," she said, and went.
The smoke from the lamps settled heavily down in the little
compartment, obscuring the way out. The smell of oil, stifling in
its intensity, pervaded the air. The wine from an overturned glass
dripped softly down upon the blotches on the man's neck.
Chapter XIX
In a room a woman sat at a table eating like a fat monk in a picture.
A soiled, unshaven man pushed open the door and entered.
"Well," said he, "Mag's dead."
"What?" said the woman, her mouth filled with bread.
"Mag's dead," repeated the man.
Maggie: A Girl of the Streets |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Europeans by Henry James: the most convenient thing to say.
She looked at him a while, smiling with her lips, but not with her eyes.
"You have scruples?" she asked.
"Scruples?" said Clifford.
"You young people, here, are very singular; one does n't know
where to expect you. When you are not extremely improper
you are so terribly proper. I dare say you think that,
owing to my irregular marriage, I live with loose people.
You were never more mistaken. I have been all the more particular."
"Oh, no," said Clifford, honestly distressed. "I never thought
such a thing as that."
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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 Twenty Years After by Alexandre Dumas: the perspiration from off his forehead, answered:
"Some full, others empty."
D'Artagnan struck the barrels with his hand, and having
ascertained that he spoke the truth, pushed his lantern,
greatly to the captain's alarm, into the interstices between
the barrels, and finding that there was nothing concealed in
them:
"Come along," he said; and he went toward the door of the
second compartment.
"Stop!" said the Englishman, "I have the key of that door;"
and he opened the door, with a trembling hand, into the
Twenty Years After |
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 Witch, et. al by Anton Chekhov: miles away. Savely is on the retired list now, and has got the
watchman's job; he has to look after the church. . . ."
And the postman was immediately informed that if Savely were to
go to the General's lady and ask her for a letter to the bishop,
he would be given a good berth. "But he doesn't go to the
General's lady because he is lazy and afraid of people. We belong
to the clergy all the same . . ." added Raissa.
"What do you live on?" asked the postman.
"There's a kitchen garden and a meadow belonging to the church.
Only we don't get much from that," sighed Raissa. "The old
skinflint, Father Nikodim, from the next village celebrates here
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