| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The United States Bill of Rights: V
No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime,
unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising
in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service
in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for
the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb;
nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself,
nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law;
nor shall private property be taken for public use without just compensation.
VI
In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a
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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 Man that Corrupted Hadleyburg by Mark Twain: "Missionary Herald" by the lamp:
"Pray keep your seat, madam, I will not disturb you. There--now it
is pretty well concealed; one would hardly know it was there. Can I
see your husband a moment, madam?"
No, he was gone to Brixton, and might not return before morning.
"Very well, madam, it is no matter. I merely wanted to leave that
sack in his care, to be delivered to the rightful owner when he
shall be found. I am a stranger; he does not know me; I am merely
passing through the town to-night to discharge a matter which has
been long in my mind. My errand is now completed, and I go pleased
and a little proud, and you will never see me again. There is a
The Man that Corrupted Hadleyburg |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from In the Cage by Henry James: resembled a front of many floors. It had gone a great way with her
that he would build up a business to his chin, which he carried
quite in the air. This could only be a question of time; he would
have all Piccadilly in the pen behind his ear. That was a merit in
itself for a girl who had known what she had known. There were
hours at which she even found him good-looking, though, frankly
there could be no crown for her effort to imagine on the part of
the tailor or the barber some such treatment of his appearance as
would make him resemble even remotely a man of the world. His very
beauty was the beauty of a grocer, and the finest future would
offer it none too much room consistently to develop. She had
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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 American by Henry James: passive entertainment, in the Champs Elysees and at the theatres,
seemed about as much as he need expect of himself, and although,
as he had said to Tristram, he wanted to see the mysterious,
satisfying BEST, he had not the Grand Tour in the least on his conscience,
and was not given to cross-questioning the amusement of the hour.
He believed that Europe was made for him, and not he for Europe.
He had said that he wanted to improve his mind, but he would have felt
a certain embarrassment, a certain shame, even--a false shame, possibly--
if he had caught himself looking intellectually into the mirror.
Neither in this nor in any other respect had Newman a high sense
of responsibility; it was his prime conviction that a man's life
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