| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Frankenstein by Mary Shelley: I knelt on the grass and kissed the earth and with quivering lips
exclaimed, "By the sacred earth on which I kneel, by the shades
that wander near me, by the deep and eternal grief that I feel,
I swear; and by thee, O Night, and the spirits that preside over thee,
to pursue the daemon who caused this misery, until he or I shall perish
in mortal conflict. For this purpose I will preserve my life;
to execute this dear revenge will I again behold the sun and tread the
green herbage of earth, which otherwise should vanish from my eyes forever.
And I call on you, spirits of the dead, and on you, wandering ministers
of vengeance, to aid and conduct me in my work. Let the cursed and
hellish monster drink deep of agony; let him feel the despair that
Frankenstein |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Westward Ho! by Charles Kingsley: they run a league."
The two long and lean Clovelly men, active as deer from forest
training, ran two feet for the Spaniard's one; and in ten minutes
returned, having done their work; while Amyas and his men hurried
past the Indians, to help Cary and the party forward, where shouts
and musket shots announced a sharp affray.
Their arrival settled the matter. All the Spaniards fell but three
or four, who scrambled down the crannies of the cliff.
"Let not one of them escape! Slay them as Israel slew Amalek!"
cried Yeo, as he bent over; and ere the wretches could reach a
place of shelter, an arrow was quivering in each body, as it rolled
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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 The Jungle by Upton Sinclair: a sense of impending calamity overwhelmed him.
Because there was nothing else to do, he went back to the time office
to watch again. He waited until nearly an hour after seven, and then
went to the room where Ona worked to make inquiries of Ona's "forelady."
The "forelady," he found, had not yet come; all the lines of cars
that came from downtown were stalled--there had been an accident
in the powerhouse, and no cars had been running since last night.
Meantime, however, the ham-wrappers were working away, with some one
else in charge of them. The girl who answered Jurgis was busy,
and as she talked she looked to see if she were being watched.
Then a man came up, wheeling a truck; he knew Jurgis for Ona's husband,
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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 The Damnation of Theron Ware by Harold Frederic: These young men down there are changing all that.
They have discovered lager. Already many of them
can outdrink the Germans at their own beverage.
The lager-drinking Irishman in a few generations will
be a new type of humanity--the Kelt at his best.
He will dominate America. He will be THE American.
And his church--with the Italian element thrown clean out
of it, and its Pope living, say, in Baltimore or Georgetown--
will be the Church of America."
"Let us have some more lager at once," put in Celia.
"This revolution can't be hurried forward too rapidly."
The Damnation of Theron Ware |
