The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Riders of the Purple Sage by Zane Grey: indication of distress while Venters rode him. Nevertheless,
there was now reason to save the horse, therefore Venters did not
resort to the hurry that had characterized his former trip. He
camped at the last water in the Pass. What distance that was to
Cottonwoods he did not know; he calculated, however, that it was
in the neighborhood of fifty miles.
Early in the morning he proceeded on his way, and about the
middle of the forenoon reached the constricted gap that marked
the southerly end of the Pass, and through which led the trail up
to the sage-level. He spied out Lassiter's tracks in the dust,
but no others, and dismounting, he straightened out Wrangle's
Riders of the Purple Sage |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Mysterious Island by Jules Verne: Chapter 6
However, the chief business of the colonists was to make that complete
exploration of the island which had been decided upon, and which would have
two objects: to discover the mysterious being whose existence was now
indisputable, and at the same time to find out what had become of the
pirates, what retreat they had chosen, what sort of life they were leading,
and what was to be feared from them. Cyrus Harding wished to set out
without delay; but as the expedition would be of some days duration, it
appeared best to load the cart with different materials and tools in order
to facilitate the organization of the encampments. One of the onagers,
however, having hurt its leg, could not be harnessed at present, and a few
The Mysterious Island |
The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from The Emerald City of Oz by L. Frank Baum: you Phanfasms--if you can find a seat in this wild haunt--and listen
to what I have to say."
With all his knowledge and bravery General Guph did not know that the
steady glare from the bear eyes was reading his inmost thoughts as
surely as if they had been put into words. He did not know that these
despised rock heaps of the Phanfasms were merely deceptions to his own
eyes, nor could he guess that he was standing in the midst of one of
the most splendid and luxurious cities ever built by magic power. All
that he saw was a barren waste of rock heaps, a hairy man with an
owl's head and another with a bear's head. The sorcery of the
Phanfasms permitted him to see no more.
The Emerald City of Oz |
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 Egmont by Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe: when she takes me at my word, and lets me leave her, I feel as if I could
go mad,--Wretched man! Does the fate of thy fatherland, does the growing
disturbance fail to move thee?--Are countryman and Spaniard the same to
thee? and carest thou not who rules, and who is in the right? I wad a
different sort of fellow as a schoolboy! --Then, when an exercise in
oratory was given; "Brutus' Speech for Liberty," for instance, Fritz was
ever the first, and the rector would say: "If it were only spoken more
deliberately, the words not all huddled together."--Then my blood boiled,
and longed for action.--Now I drag along, bound by the eyes of a maiden.
I cannot leave her! yet she, alas, cannot love me!--ah--no---she--she
cannot have entirely rejected me--not entirely--yet half love is no love!--I
Egmont |