| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Through the Looking-Glass by Lewis Carroll: never can remember the rule. You must be very happy, living in
this wood, and being glad whenever you like!'
`Only it is so VERY lonely here!' Alice said in a melancholy
voice; and at the thought of her loneliness two large tears came
rolling down her cheeks.
`Oh, don't go on like that!' cried the poor Queen, wringing her
hands in despair. `Consider what a great girl you are. Consider
what a long way you've come to-day. Consider what o'clock it is.
Consider anything, only don't cry!'
Alice could not help laughing at this, even in the midst of her tears.
`Can YOU keep from crying by considering things?' she asked.
Through the Looking-Glass |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Mysterious Island by Jules Verne: we were very anxious during the few hours before our return, and we should
have passed to windward of the island, if it had not been for the
precaution you took of lighting a fire the night of the 19th of October, on
Prospect Heights.
"Yes, yes! That was a lucky idea of mine!" replied the engineer.
"And this time," continued the sailor. "unless the idea occurs to Ayrton,
there will be no one to do us that little service!"
"No! No one!" answered Cyrus Harding.
A few minutes after, finding himself alone in the bows of the vessel,
with the reporter, the engineer bent down and whispered,--
"If there is one thing certain in this world, Spilett, it is that I never
The Mysterious Island |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Adieu by Honore de Balzac: "She called me!" cried the baron, dropping his pistol, which Stephanie
picked up. He took it from her hastily, caught up the one that was on
the bench, and rushed away.
"Poor darling!" said the doctor, happy in the success of his lie. He
pressed the poor creature to his breast, and continued speaking to
himself: "He would have killed thee, selfish man! because he suffers.
He does not love thee for thyself, my child! But we forgive, do we
not? He is mad, out of his senses, but thou art only senseless. No,
God alone should call thee to Him. We think thee unhappy, we pity thee
because thou canst not share our sorrows, fools that we are!--But," he
said, sitting down and taking her on his knee, "nothing troubles thee;
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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 Commission in Lunacy by Honore de Balzac: pans without handles to call you a lunatic----"
"A lunatic! My father?" exclaimed the boys, clinging to the Marquis.
"What is this?"
"Silence, madame," said Popinot.
"Children, leave us," said the Marquis.
The two boys went into the garden without a word, but very much
alarmed.
"Madame," said the judge, "the moneys paid to you by Monsieur le
Marquis were legally due, though given to you in virtue of a very far-
reaching theory of honesty. If all the people possessed of confiscated
goods, by whatever cause, even if acquired by treachery, were
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