| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Tales of Unrest by Joseph Conrad: eyelashes, of a red cheek with a tear running down swiftly; and then
she turned away again and sat as before, covering her face with her
hands.
"You ought to be perfectly frank with me," he said, slowly.
"You know everything," she answered, indistinctly, through her
fingers.
"This letter. . . . Yes . . . but . . ."
"And I came back," she exclaimed in a stifled voice; "you know
everything."
"I am glad of it--for your sake," he said with impressive gravity. He
listened to himself with solemn emotion. It seemed to him that
Tales of Unrest |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift: scouts assured us, lay at anchor in the harbour, ready to sail
with the first fair wind. I consulted the most experienced
seamen upon the depth of the channel, which they had often
plumbed; who told me, that in the middle, at high-water, it was
seventy GLUMGLUFFS deep, which is about six feet of European
measure; and the rest of it fifty GLUMGLUFFS at most. I walked
towards the north-east coast, over against Blefuscu, where, lying
down behind a hillock, I took out my small perspective glass, and
viewed the enemy's fleet at anchor, consisting of about fifty men
of war, and a great number of transports: I then came back to my
house, and gave orders (for which I had a warrant) for a great
Gulliver's Travels |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from The Man against the Sky by Edwin Arlington Robinson: The Poor Relation
No longer torn by what she knows
And sees within the eyes of others,
Her doubts are when the daylight goes,
Her fears are for the few she bothers.
She tells them it is wholly wrong
Of her to stay alive so long;
And when she smiles her forehead shows
A crinkle that had been her mother's.
Beneath her beauty, blanched with pain,
And wistful yet for being cheated,
|
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 Walden by Henry David Thoreau: such a gem. The traveller does not often look into such a limpid
well. The ignorant or reckless sportsman often shoots the parent at
such a time, and leaves these innocents to fall a prey to some
prowling beast or bird, or gradually mingle with the decaying leaves
which they so much resemble. It is said that when hatched by a hen
they will directly disperse on some alarm, and so are lost, for they
never hear the mother's call which gathers them again. These were
my hens and chickens.
It is remarkable how many creatures live wild and free though
secret in the woods, and still sustain themselves in the
neighborhood of towns, suspected by hunters only. How retired the
Walden |
