| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Hiero by Xenophon: supreme head, to some unprecedented height of fortune, which if you
shall achieve, be certain you will be approved victorious in a contest
the noblest and the most stupendous in the world.
Since what follows? In the first place, you will by one swift stroke
have brought about the very thing you have set your heart on, you will
have won the affection of your subjects. Secondly, you will need no
herald to proclaim your victory; not one man only, but all mankind,
shall hymn your virtue.
Wherever you set foot you shall be gazed upon, and not by individual
citizens alone, but by a hundred states be warmly welcomed. You shall
be a marvel, not in the private circle only, but in public in the
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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 An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge by Ambrose Bierce: either side was full of singular noises, among which -- once,
twice, and again -- he distinctly heard whispers in an
unknown tongue.
His neck was in pain and lifting his hand to it found it
horribly swollen. He knew that it had a circle of black
where the rope had bruised it. His eyes felt congested; he
could no longer close them. His tongue was swollen with
thirst; he relieved its fever by thrusting it forward from
between his teeth into the cold air. How softly the turf had
carpeted the untraveled avenue -- he could no longer feel the
roadway beneath his feet!
An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge |
