| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Camille by Alexandre Dumas: oh, with all my heart, friend, for the way you hurt me was only a
way of proving the love you had for me. I have been in bed for a
month, and I think so much of your esteem that I write every day
the journal of my life, from the moment we left each other to the
moment when I shall be able to write no longer. If the interest
you take in me is real, Armand, when you come back go and see
Julie Duprat. She will give you my journal. You will find in it
the reason and the excuse for what has passed between us. Julie
is very good to me; we often talk of you together. She was there
when your letter came, and we both cried over it.
"If you had not sent me any word, I had told her to give you
Camille |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Travels of Sir John Mandeville by Sir John Mandeville: haven, and ships there and wends by sea to the isle of Greff, the
which pertains to the Genoans.
And syne he arrives in Greece at Port Mirrok, or at Valoun, or at
Duras, or at some other haven of that country, and rests him there
and buys him victuals and ships again and sails to Cyprus and
arrives there at Famagost and comes not at the isle of Rhodes.
Famagost is the chief haven of Cyprus; and there he refreshes him
and purveys him of victuals, and then he goes to ship and comes no
more on land, if he will, before he comes at Port Jaffa, that is
the next haven to Jerusalem, for it is but a day journey and a half
from Jerusalem, that is to say thirty-six mile. From the Port
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| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Lord Arthur Savile's Crime, etc. by Oscar Wilde: the night seemed to tremble. Then the railway lights went out, one
solitary lamp left gleaming like a large ruby on a giant mast, and
the roar of the city became fainter.
At two o'clock he got up, and strolled towards Blackfriars. How
unreal everything looked! How like a strange dream! The houses on
the other side of the river seemed built out of darkness. One
would have said that silver and shadow had fashioned the world
anew. The huge dome of St. Paul's loomed like a bubble through the
dusky air.
As he approached Cleopatra's Needle he saw a man leaning over the
parapet, and as he came nearer the man looked up, the gas-light
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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 McTeague by Frank Norris: carefully up and down the street. It was deserted and
quiet. He turned sharply to the right and went down a narrow
passage that led into the little court yard behind the
school. A candle was burning in Trina's room. He went up
by the outside stairway and entered.
The trunk stood locked in one corner of the room. The
dentist took the lid-lifter from the little oil stove, put
it underneath the lock-clasp and wrenched it open.
Groping beneath a pile of dresses he found the chamois-skin
bag, the little brass match-box, and, at the very bottom,
carefully thrust into one corner, the canvas sack crammed to
McTeague |
