| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Death of the Lion by Henry James: morrow to Bigwood.'
"'And your chance has only proved a chance to lose it?'
"'I haven't lost it. I remember now - it was very stupid of me to
have forgotten. I told my maid to give it to Lord Dorimont - or at
least to his man.'
"'And Lord Dorimont went away directly after luncheon.'
"'Of course he gave it back to my maid - or else his man did,' said
Lady Augusta. 'I dare say it's all right.'
"The conscience of these people is like a summer sea. They haven't
time to look over a priceless composition; they've only time to
kick it about the house. I suggested that the 'man,' fired with a
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Second Inaugural Address by Abraham Lincoln: all sought to avert it. While the inaugural address was being delivered
from this place, devoted altogether to saving the Union without war,
insurgent agents were in the city seeking to destroy it without war--
seeking to dissolve the Union, and divide effects, by negotiation.
Both parties deprecated war; but one of them would make war rather
than let the nation survive; and the other would accept war rather
than let it perish. And the war came.
One-eighth of the whole population were colored slaves, not distributed
generally over the Union, but localized in the Southern part of it.
These slaves constituted a peculiar and powerful interest. All knew
that this interest was, somehow, the cause of the war. To strengthen,
Second Inaugural Address |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Damaged Goods by Upton Sinclair: not having confidence in a wife's intimate friends--lady-killer
that you are!"
George found this rather embarrassing; but he dared not show it,
so he laughed gayly. "I don't know what you mean," he said--
"upon my word I don't. But it is a trick I would not advise
everybody to try."
There were other embarrassing moments, caused by George's having
things to conceal. There was, for instance, the matter of the
six months' delay in the marriage--about which Henriette would
never stop talking. She begrudged the time, because she had got
the idea that little Gervaise was six months younger than she
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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 Timaeus by Plato: through the body to the soul. All such motions have consequently received
the general name of 'sensations,' which they still retain. And they did in
fact at that time create a very great and mighty movement; uniting with the
ever-flowing stream in stirring up and violently shaking the courses of the
soul, they completely stopped the revolution of the same by their opposing
current, and hindered it from predominating and advancing; and they so
disturbed the nature of the other or diverse, that the three double
intervals (i.e. between 1, 2, 4, 8), and the three triple intervals (i.e.
between 1, 3, 9, 27), together with the mean terms and connecting links
which are expressed by the ratios of 3:2, and 4:3, and of 9:8--these,
although they cannot be wholly undone except by him who united them, were
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