Today's Stichomancy for Jay Leno
| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Silas Marner by George Eliot: might come as she had threatened to do. And then he tried to make
the scene easier to himself by rehearsal: he made up his mind how he
would pass from the admission of his weakness in letting Dunstan
have the money to the fact that Dunstan had a hold on him which he
had been unable to shake off, and how he would work up his father to
expect something very bad before he told him the fact. The old
Squire was an implacable man: he made resolutions in violent anger,
and he was not to be moved from them after his anger had subsided--
as fiery volcanic matters cool and harden into rock. Like many
violent and implacable men, he allowed evils to grow under favour of
his own heedlessness, till they pressed upon him with exasperating
 Silas Marner |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Historical Lecturers and Essays by Charles Kingsley: He, too, tried to solve for his people the mystery of evil; and if
he did not succeed, who has succeeded yet? Warring against Ormuzd,
Ahura Mazda, was Ahriman, Angra Mainyus, literally the being of an
evil mind, the ill-conditioned being. He was labouring perpetually
to spoil the good work of Ormuzd alike in nature and in man. He was
the cause of the fall of man, the tempter, the author of misery and
death; he was eternal and uncreate as Ormuzd was. But that,
perhaps, was a corruption of the purer and older Zoroastrian creed.
With it, if Ahriman were eternal in the past, he would not be
eternal in the future. Somehow, somewhen, somewhere, in the day
when three prophets--the increasing light, the increasing truth, and
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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 Lysis by Plato: we shall be free, and masters of others; and these things will be really
ours, for we shall be benefited by them. But in things of which we have no
understanding, no one will trust us to do as seems good to us--they will
hinder us as far as they can; and not only strangers, but father and
mother, and the friend, if there be one, who is dearer still, will also
hinder us; and we shall be subject to others; and these things will not be
ours, for we shall not be benefited by them. Do you agree?
He assented.
And shall we be friends to others, and will any others love us, in as far
as we are useless to them?
Certainly not.
 Lysis |
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 Frances Waldeaux by Rebecca Davis: case she becomes your wife?"
"Assuredly." He hastily unfolded a large paper. "This
must be accepted by her guardian before the betrothal can
take place. I will translate, in brief. The whole
estate passes to me, and is secured to me in case of my
wife's death without issue. I inserted that clause," he
said, looking up, smiling, for approval, "because
American Frauleins are so fragile--not like our
women. I will, of course, if we have issue, try to
preserve the real estate for my heir, and the remaining
property for my other children."
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