| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf: descended, that he could not smite that butterfly with such an
instrument as this, said only that he had never been sick in his life.
But in that one sentence lay compact, like gunpowder, that his
grandfather was a fisherman; his father a chemist; that he had worked
his way up entirely himself; that he was proud of it; that he was
Charles Tansley--a fact that nobody there seemed to realise; but one of
these days every single person would know it. He scowled ahead of him.
He could almost pity these mild cultivated people, who would be blown
sky high, like bales of wool and barrels of apples, one of these days
by the gunpowder that was in him.
"Will you take me, Mr Tansley?" said Lily, quickly, kindly, for, of
To the Lighthouse |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from At the Earth's Core by Edgar Rice Burroughs: In an instant I was white with jealousy, but only for
an instant; since Dian quickly drew the man toward me,
telling him that I was David, her mate.
"And this is my brother, Dacor the Strong One, David,"
she said to me.
It appeared that the woman was Dacor's mate. He had
found none to his liking among the Sari, nor farther on
until he had come to the land of the Thoria, and there
he had found and fought for this very lovely Thorian
maiden whom he was bringing back to his own people.
When they had heard our story and our plans they decided
At the Earth's Core |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Main Street by Sinclair Lewis: ain't any water except that ole iron sink outside in the hall,
but still, as I say to Champ, beggars can't be choosers. 'Sides,
the brick house was too big for me to sweep, and it was way
out, and it's nice to be living down here among folks. Yes,
we're glad to be here. But---- Some day, maybe we can
have a house of our own again. We're saving up---- Oh,
dear, if we could have our own home! But these rooms are
real nice, ain't they!"
As old people will, the world over, they had moved as much
as possible of their familiar furniture into this small space.
Carol had none of the superiority she felt toward Mrs. Lyman
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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 Oscar Wilde Miscellaneous by Oscar Wilde: I have heard also
Of husbands that wear horns, and wear them bravely,
A fashion most fantastical.
GUIDO. Simone,
Your reckless tongue needs curbing; and besides,
You do forget this gracious lady here
Whose delicate ears are surely not attuned
To such coarse music.
SIMONE. True: I had forgotten,
Nor will offend again. Yet, my sweet Lord,
You'll buy the robe of state. Will you not buy it?
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