| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Early Short Fiction of Edith Wharton by Edith Wharton: during her husband's lifetime his companionship had been all-
sufficient to her. For many years she had cherished a desire to
live in the country, to have a hen-house and a garden; but this
longing had faded with age, leaving only in the breast of the
uncommunicative old woman a vague tenderness for plants and
animals. It was, perhaps, this tenderness which made her cling
so fervently to her view from her window, a view in which the
most optimistic eye would at first have failed to discover
anything admirable.
Mrs. Manstey, from her coign of vantage (a slightly projecting
bow-window where she nursed an ivy and a succession of
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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 Contrast by Royall Tyler: CHARLOTTE
She has only a mantua-maker who waits for her at
home. But, as I am to give my opinion of the dress,
I think she cannot go yet. We were talking of the
fashions when you came in, but I suppose the subject
must be changed to something of more importance
now. Mr. Dimple, will you favour us with an account
of the public entertainments?
DIMPLE
Why, really, Miss Manly, you could not have asked
me a question more mal-apropos. For my part, I must
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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 A Kidnapped Santa Claus by L. Frank Baum: which was located deep in the heart of the Forest of Burzee; and once
there, it did not take him long to find out all about the naughty
Daemons and how they had kidnapped the good Santa Claus to prevent his
making children happy. The Fairy Queen also promised her assistance,
and then, fortified by this powerful support, Wisk flew back to where
Nuter and Peter and Kilter awaited him, and the four counseled
together and laid plans to rescue their master from his enemies.
It is possible that Santa Claus was not as merry as usual during the
night that succeeded his capture. For although he had faith in the
judgment of his little friends he could not avoid a certain amount of
worry, and an anxious look would creep at times into his kind old eyes
A Kidnapped Santa Claus |
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 Charmides by Plato: excellence of a translation will consist, not merely in the faithful
rendering of words, or in the composition of a sentence only, or yet of a
single paragraph, but in the colour and style of the whole work.
Equability of tone is best attained by the exclusive use of familiar and
idiomatic words. But great care must be taken; for an idiomatic phrase, if
an exception to the general style, is of itself a disturbing element. No
word, however expressive and exact, should be employed, which makes the
reader stop to think, or unduly attracts attention by difficulty and
peculiarity, or disturbs the effect of the surrounding language. In
general the style of one author is not appropriate to another; as in
society, so in letters, we expect every man to have 'a good coat of his
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