| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Selected Writings of Guy De Maupassant by Guy De Maupassant: white wings, sailing in the blue heavens, sometimes at the green
sea, or at the brown sails of a fishing bark. In short, I had
passed a happy day, a day of listlessness and of liberty.
"I was shown a little farmhouse, where travelers were put up, a
kind of inn, kept by a peasant, which stood in the center of a
Norman court, surrounded by a double row of beeches.
"Quitting the Falaise. I gained the hamlet, which was hemmed in
by great trees, and I presented myself at the house of Mother
Lecacheur.
"She was an old, wrinkled, and austere rustic, who always seemed
to yield to the pressure of new customs with a kind of contempt.
|
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Odyssey by Homer: discs, or aiming with spears at a mark on the levelled ground in
front of the house, and behaving with all their old insolence.
But when it was now time for dinner, and the flock of sheep and
goats had come into the town from all the country round, {140}
with their shepherds as usual, then Medon, who was their
favourite servant, and who waited upon them at table, said, "Now
then, my young masters, you have had enough sport, so come
inside that we may get dinner ready. Dinner is not a bad thing,
at dinner time."
They left their sports as he told them, and when they were
within the house, they laid their cloaks on the benches and
The Odyssey |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from The Enchanted Island of Yew by L. Frank Baum: your story."
"Not now," said Prince Marvel, with a smile. "It will please you to
desire in vain to hear a tale I will not tell. Yet I promise that on
the day we part company I shall inform you who I am."
7. The Gray Men
The adventurers gave no heed to the path they followed after leaving
the cave of the reformed thieves, but their horses accidentally took
the direction of the foot-hills that led into the wild interior
Kingdom of Spor. Therefore the travelers, when they had finished
their conversation and begun to look about them, found themselves in a
rugged, mountainous country that was wholly unlike the green plains of
The Enchanted Island of Yew |
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 Tik-Tok of Oz by L. Frank Baum: girl's companions were now so happy at the success
of Shaggy's quest for his brother, and the
laughter and merriment seemed so general, that
Betsy's heart softened toward the friendless old
man who had once been their bitter enemy, and she
carried to him some of the food and drink.
Ruggedo's eyes filled with tears at this
unexpected kindness. He took the child's hand in
his own and pressed it gratefully.
"Look here, Kaliko," said Betsy, addressing the
new King, "what's the use of being hard on
Tik-Tok of Oz |
