| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Mansion by Henry van Dyke: that he
had a reputation to maintain, a theory to vindicate. He could
afford to
give them time to see that he was absolutely right.
One of his favorite Scripture quotations was, "Wait on the Lord."
He had applied it to real estate and to people, with profitable
results.
But to human persons the sensation of being waited for is not
always agreeable. Sometimes, especially with the young, it
produces
a vague restlessness, a dumb resentment, which is increased by
|
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Venus and Adonis by William Shakespeare: Strike the wise dumb and teach the fool to speak.
'It shall be sparing and too full of riot,
Teaching decrepit age to tread the measures; 1148
The staring ruffian shall it keep in quiet,
Pluck down the rich, enrich the poor with treasures;
It shall be raging mad, and silly mild,
Make the young old, the old become a child. 1152
'It shall suspect where is no cause of fear;
It shall not fear where it should most mistrust;
It shall be merciful, and too severe,
And most deceiving when it seems most just; 1156
|
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell: When Gerald first moved to north Georgia, there had been no
Atlanta at all, not even the semblance of a village, and
wilderness rolled over the site. But the next year, in 1836, the
State had authorized the building of a railroad northwestward
through the territory which the Cherokees had recently ceded. The
destination of the proposed railroad, Tennessee and the West, was
clear and definite, but its beginning point in Georgia was
somewhat uncertain until, a year later, an engineer drove a stake
in the red clay to mark the southern end of the line, and Atlanta,
born Terminus, had begun.
There were no railroads then in north Georgia, and very few
Gone With the Wind |
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 Thuvia, Maid of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs: have you no bowmen to strike terror to the hearts of the
green hordesmen as they slay in company with the fierce
banths of war?"
"We have soldiers," replied Carthoris. "We of the red
race are all soldiers, but we have no bowmen to defend
us, such as yours. We defend ourselves."
"You go out and get killed by your enemies!" cried
Jav incredulously.
"Certainly," replied Carthoris. "How do the Lotharians?"
"You have seen," replied the other. "We send out our
deathless archers--deathless because they are lifeless,
Thuvia, Maid of Mars |
