| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The War in the Air by H. G. Wells: Races. It had given these subject races cigarettes, boots,
bowler hats, cricket, race meetings, cheap revolvers, petroleum,
the factory system of industry, halfpeuny newspapers in both
English and the vernacular, inexpensive university degrees,
motor-bicycles and electric trams; it had produced a considerable
literature expressing contempt for the Subject Races, and
rendered it freely accessible to them, and it had been content to
believe that nothing would result from these stimulants because
somebody once wrote "the immemorial east"; and also, in the
inspired words of Kipling--
East is east and west is west,
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Bureaucracy by Honore de Balzac: Between ourselves, Rabourdin is the only man capable of taking charge
of the division, and I might say of the ministry. Do you know that
they talk of putting in over his head that solid lump of foolishness,
that cube of idiocy, Baudoyer?"
Dutocq [consequentially]. "My dear fellow, I am in a position to rouse
the whole division against Rabourdin. You know how devoted Fleury is
to him? Well, I can make Fleury despise him."
Bixiou. "Despised by Fleury!"
Dutocq. "Not a soul will stand by Rabourdin; the clerks will go in a
body and complain of him to the minister,--not only in our division,
but in all the divisions--"
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| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Master and Man by Leo Tolstoy: time to encourage him.
'Now come out! come out!' he said, leading him clear of the
shafts. 'Now we'll tie you up here and I'll put down some
straw and take off your bridle. When you've had a bite you'll
feel more cheerful.'
But Mukhorty was restless and evidently not comforted by
Nikita's remarks. He stepped now on one foot and now on
another, and pressed close against the sledge, turning his back
to the wind and rubbing his head on Nikita's sleeve. Then, as
if not to pain Nikita by refusing his offer of the straw he put
before him, he hurriedly snatched a wisp out of the sledge, but
Master and Man |
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 Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe: this between ourselves, we called him to let him know what we had
resolved. I told him he had complained of our being willing to let
him go back alone, and I was now about to tell him we designed he
should not go back at all. That as we had resolved to go to Europe
with the caravan, we were very willing he should go with us; and
that we called him to know his mind. He shook his head and said it
was a long journey, and that he had no PECUNE to carry him thither,
or to subsist himself when he came there. We told him we believed
it was so, and therefore we had resolved to do something for him
that should let him see how sensible we were of the service he had
done us, and also how agreeable he was to us: and then I told him
Robinson Crusoe |
