| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe: was our men falling upon the men, who, as I said, stood at the few
houses on the way, of whom they killed sixteen or seventeen, and
set all the houses on fire, but did not meddle with the women or
children.
By the time the men got to the shore again with the pinnace our men
began to appear; they came dropping in, not in two bodies as they
went, but straggling here and there in such a manner, that a small
force of resolute men might have cut them all off. But the dread
of them was upon the whole country; and the men were surprised, and
so frightened, that I believe a hundred of them would have fled at
the sight of but five of our men. Nor in all this terrible action
Robinson Crusoe |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Margret Howth: A Story of To-day by Rebecca Harding Davis: Any one with keen analytic eye, noting the thin muscles of this
woman, the protruding brain, the eyes deep, concealing, would
have foretold that she would conquer in the fight; force her soul
down,-- but that the forcing down would leave the weak, flaccid
body spent and dead. One thing was certain: no curious eyes
would see the struggle; the body might be nerveless or sickly,
but it had the great power of reticence; the calm with which she
faced the closest gaze was natural to her,--no mask. When she
left her room and went down, the same unaltered quiet that had
baffled Knowles steadied her step and cooled her eyes.
After you have made a sacrifice of yourself for others, did you
Margret Howth: A Story of To-day |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from The Troll Garden and Selected Stories by Willa Cather: "Has she a motor?" asked the stranger absently.
"'Deed an' she has! She runs into town every night about this
time for her mail and meat for supper. Some folks say she's afraid
her auto won't get exercise enough, but I say that's jealousy."
"Aren't there any other motors about here?"
"Oh, yes! we have fourteen in all. But nobody else gets
around like the Old Lady Ericson. She's out, rain er shine, over
the whole county, chargin' into town and out amongst her farms, an'
up to her sons' places. Sure you ain't goin' to the wrong place?"
He craned his neck and looked at Nils' flute case with eager
curiosity. "The old woman ain't got any piany that I knows on.
The Troll Garden and Selected Stories |
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 Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz by L. Frank Baum: upset cage, sat down upon the glass roof, and yawned and blinked its
round eyes.
"Oh," said Dorothy. "There's Eureka."
"First time I ever saw a pink cat," said Zeb.
"Eureka isn't pink; she's white. It's this queer light that gives her
that color."
"Where's my milk?" asked the kitten, looking up into Dorothy's face.
"I'm 'most starved to death."
"Oh, Eureka! Can you talk?"
"Talk! Am I talking? Good gracious, I believe I am. Isn't it
funny?" asked the kitten.
Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz |
