| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare: And may not young men die as well as old?
BAPTISTA.
Well, gentlemen,
I am thus resolv'd. On Sunday next, you know,
My daughter Katherine is to be married;
Now, on the Sunday following, shall Bianca
Be bride to you, if you make this assurance;
If not, to Signior Gremio.
And so I take my leave, and thank you both.
GREMIO.
Adieu, good neighbour.
The Taming of the Shrew |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Duchesse de Langeais by Honore de Balzac: go; and that next morning I might be angry with myself, and
wretched because I had gone too far? Alas! I sinned in
ignorance. I was as sincere in my wrongdoing, I swear to you, as
in my remorse. There was far more love for you in my severity
than in my concessions. And besides, of what do you complain? I
gave you my heart; that was not enough; you demanded, brutally,
that I should give my person----"
"Brutally?" repeated Montriveau. But to himself he said, "If
I once allow her to dispute over words, I am lost."
"Yes. You came to me as if I were one of those women. You
showed none of the respect, none of the attentions of love. Had
|
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Men of Iron by Howard Pyle: of the crown. To be knighted by the King in person distinguished
the recipient for life. It was this signal honor that the Earl,
for his own purposes, wished Myles to enjoy, and for this end he
had laid not a few plans.
The accolade was the term used for the creation of a knight upon
the field of battle. It was a reward of valor or of meritorious
service, and was generally bestowed in a more or less off-hand
way; but the ceremony of the Bath was an occasion of the greatest
courtly moment, and it was thus that Myles Falworth was to be
knighted in addition to the honor of a royal belting.
A quaint old book treating of knighthood and chivalry gives a
Men of Iron |
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 Tales of the Klondyke by Jack London: alone Molly Travis who pulled on gum boots, mackintosh, and
straps; for the phantom hands of ten thousand forbears drew tight
the buckles, just so as they squared her jaw and set her eyes with
determination. She, Molly Travis, intended to shame these
Britishers; they, the innumerable shades, were asserting the
dominance of the common race.
The men-folk did not interfere. Once Dick suggested that she take
his oilskins, as her mackintosh was worth no more than paper in
such a storm. But she sniffed her independence so sharply that he
communed with his pipe till she tied the flaps on the outside and
slushed away on the flooded trail.
|
