| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Sesame and Lilies by John Ruskin: virtues were vain; that the glory of it was perishable, as well as
invisible, and the gift and grace of it might be to us as snow in
summer and as rain in harvest.
That was the first mystery of life to me. But, while my best energy
was given to the study of painting, I had put collateral effort,
more prudent if less enthusiastic, into that of architecture; and in
this I could not complain of meeting with no sympathy. Among
several personal reasons which caused me to desire that I might give
this, my closing lecture on the subject of art here, in Ireland, one
of the chief was, that in reading it, I should stand near the
beautiful building,--the engineer's school of your college,--which
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Poor and Proud by Oliver Optic: started off as fast as she could run, having, it seemed, a very
wholesome aversion to policemen. But she made a bad mistake, for,
not seeing in what direction the officer was approaching, she ran
into the very jaws of the lion.
"Stop her!" shouted the gentleman.
The policeman laid a rude hand upon her shoulder, and marched her
back to the bank. In a few words the gentleman stated what had
happened, and requested the officer to search her, and thus
decide whether Katy told the truth or not. He readily consented,
and on turning out Ann's pocket, produced the two half dollars,
one of which the gentleman decided was a counterfeit coin.
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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 Jude the Obscure by Thomas Hardy: Jude put on his hat. "It is dreary for you to be out," he said.
"But if you prefer not to come in, I don't mind."
"Yes--I do. I shall not keep you long."
Jude was too much affected to go on talking at first; she, too, was now such
a mere cluster of nerves that all initiatory power seemed to have left her,
and they proceeded through the fog like Acherontic shades for a long while,
without sound or gesture.
"I want to tell you," she presently said, her voice now quick,
now slow, "so that you may not hear of it by chance.
I am going back to Richard. He has--so magnanimously--
agreed to forgive all."
Jude the Obscure |
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 Aesop's Fables by Aesop: forest, and began to worry the sheep, and the boy of course cried
out "Wolf, Wolf," still louder than before. But this time the
villagers, who had been fooled twice before, thought the boy was
again deceiving them, and nobody stirred to come to his help. So
the Wolf made a good meal off the boy's flock, and when the boy
complained, the wise man of the village said:
"A liar will not be believed, even when he speaks the truth."
The Young Thief and His Mother
A young Man had been caught in a daring act of theft and had
been condemned to be executed for it. He expressed his desire to
see his Mother, and to speak with her before he was led to
Aesop's Fables |
