| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from One Basket by Edna Ferber: they spent a glorious day looking at the animals, eating popcorn,
and riding on the miniature railway.
They returned, tired, dusty, and happy, to a double tirade.
Bella engaged in a great deal of what she called worrying about
Dike. Ben spoke of him seldom, but the boy was always present in
his thoughts. They had written him of their move, but he had not
seemed to get the impression of its permanence. His letters
indicated that he thought they were visiting Minnie, or taking a
vacation in the city. Dike's letters were few. Ben treasured
them, and read and reread them. When the Armistice news came,
and with it the possibility of Dike's return, Ben tried to fancy
One Basket |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from La Grenadiere by Honore de Balzac: mother's tact to arouse the spirit of high endeavor in the boy, to
teach him to think of himself as capable of great things. She did this
with a secret purpose, which Louis was to understand in the future;
nay, he understood it already.
Always, the lesson over, she went as far as the gate with the master,
and asked strict account of Louis' progress. So kindly and so winning
was her manner, that his tutors told her the truth, pointing out where
Louis was weak, so that she might help him in his lessons. Then came
dinner, and play after dinner, then a walk, and lessons were learned
till bedtime.
So their days went. It was a uniform but full life; work and
|
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Faraday as a Discoverer by John Tyndall: period or another speak to you regarding Faraday and his work is
natural, if not inevitable; but I did not expect to be called upon
to speak so soon. Still the bare suggestion that this is the fit
and proper time for speech sent me immediately to my task: from it
I have returned with such results as I could gather, and also with
the wish that those results were more worthy than they are of the
greatness of my theme.
It is not my intention to lay before you a life of Faraday in the
ordinary acceptation of the term. The duty I have to perform is
to give you some notion of what he has done in the world; dwelling
incidentally on the spirit in which his work was executed,
|
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 Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson:
Treasure Island |
