| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Within the Tides by Joseph Conrad: "He saw all that lot of dollars melted into bars and disposed of
somewhere on the China coast. Of the escape after the COUP he
never doubted. There was Niclaus's prau to manage that in.
"In his enthusiasm he pulled his stumps out of his pockets and
waved them about. Then, catching sight of them, as it were, he
held them in front of his eyes, cursing and blaspheming and
bewailing his misfortune and his helplessness, till Niclaus quieted
him down.
"But it was his mind that planned out the affair and it was his
spirit which carried the other two on. Neither of them was of the
bold buccaneer type; and Fector, especially, had never in his
Within the Tides |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from What is Man? by Mark Twain: omens of the gods and the iniquity of our enemies call up.
THE DIE IS CAST."
So he crossed--and changed the future of the whole human
race, for all time. But that stranger was a link in Caesar's
life-chain, too; and a necessary one. We don't know his name, we
never hear of him again; he was very casual; he acts like an
accident; but he was no accident, he was there by compulsion of
HIS life-chain, to blow the electrifying blast that was to make
up Caesar's mind for him, and thence go piping down the aisles of
history forever.
If the stranger hadn't been there! But he WAS. And Caesar
What is Man? |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Burning Daylight by Jack London: To make matters worse, this dangerous river travel could not be
done in the dark, and their working day was reduced to the six
hours of twilight. Every moment was precious, and they strove
never to lose one. Thus, before the first hint of the coming of
gray day, camp was broken, sled loaded, dogs harnessed, and the
two men crouched waiting over the fire. Nor did they make the
midday halt to eat. As it was, they were running far behind
their schedule, each day eating into the margin they had run up.
There were days when they made fifteen miles, and days when they
made a dozen. And there was one bad stretch where in two days
they covered nine miles, being compelled to turn their backs
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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 Tour Through Eastern Counties of England by Daniel Defoe: large, rich, and populous city. If a stranger was only to ride
through or view the city of Norwich for a day, he would have much
more reason to think there was a town without inhabitants, than
there is really to say so of Ipswich; but on the contrary if he was
to view the city, either on a Sabbath-day, or on any public
occasion, he would wonder where all the people could dwell, the
multitude is so great. But the case is this: the inhabitants being
all busy at their manufactures, dwell in their garrets at their
looms, and in their combing shops (so they call them), twisting-
mills, and other work-houses, almost all the works they are
employed in being done within doors. There are in this city
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