| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Witch, et. al by Anton Chekhov: slightly drunk, opened the door into the kitchen and said in a
free-and-easy way:
"Why are you sitting in here, precious mamma? We are dull without
you."
And Praskovya, overcome with timidity, pressing her hands to her
lean, wasted bosom, said:
"Oh, not at all. . . . It's very kind of you."
After the visit of inspection the wedding day was fixed. Then
Anisim walked about the rooms at home whistling, or suddenly
thinking of something, would fall to brooding and would look at
the floor fixedly, silently, as though he would probe to the
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Bride of Lammermoor by Walter Scott: "I believe you may be right, Caleb; but, before burning down my
castle, either in jest or in earnest," said Ravenswood, "I think
I had a right to be in the secret."
"Fie for shame, your honour!" replied Caleb; "it fits an auld
carle like me weel eneugh to tell lees for the credit of the
family, but it wadna beseem the like o' your honour's sell;
besides, young folk are no judicious: they cannot make the maist
of a bit figment. Now this fire--for a fire it sall be, if I
suld burn the auld stable to make it mair feasible--this fire,
besides that it will be an excuse for asking ony thing we want
through the country, or doun at the haven--this fire will settle
The Bride of Lammermoor |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Under the Andes by Rex Stout: "It's a tunnel," said Harry.
I nodded, forgetting he could not see me. "Shall we take it?"
"Anything on a chance," he answered, and we entered the
passage.
It was quite narrow--so narrow that we were forced to advance
very slowly, feeling our way to avoid colliding with the walls.
The ground was strewn with fragments of rock, and a hasty step
meant an almost certain fall and a bruised shin. It was tedious
work and incredibly fatiguing.
We had not rested a sufficient length of time to allow our
bodies to recuperate from the struggle with the torrent; also, we
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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 All's Well That Ends Well by William Shakespeare: CLOWN.
O Lord, sir!--Nay, put me to't, I warrant you.
COUNTESS.
You were lately whipped, sir, as I think.
CLOWN.
O Lord, sir!--Spare not me.
COUNTESS.
Do you cry 'O Lord, sir!' at your whipping, and 'spare not me'?
Indeed your 'O Lord, sir!' is very sequent to your whipping. You
would answer very well to a whipping, if you were but bound to't.
CLOWN.
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