| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Letters from England by Elizabeth Davis Bancroft: much to my pleasure. . . . He showed us a drawing of the largest
FLOWER ever known on earth, which Sir Stamford Raffles discovered in
Sumatra. It was a parasite without leaves or stem, and the flower
weighed fifteen pounds. Lady Raffles furnished him the materials
for the drawing. I dined in company with her not long ago, and
regret now that I did not make her tell me about the wonders of that
region. At the same dinner you may meet so many people, each having
their peculiar gift, that one cannot avail oneself of the
opportunity of extracting from each what is precious. I always wish
I could sit by everybody at the same time, and I could often employ
a dozen heads, if I had them, instead of my poor, miserable one.
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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 Magic of Oz by L. Frank Baum: you also have magic," answered the Nome.
"Tell us your plan!" shouted the huge Tiger, and the other beasts
echoed his words, crying: "Tell us your plan."
"My plan is simple," replied Ruggedo. "By our magic we will
transform all you animals into men and women--like the Oz people--and
we will transform all the Oz people into beasts. You can then live in
the fine houses of the Land of Oz, and eat the fine food of the Oz
people, and wear their fine clothes, and sing and dance and be happy.
And the Oz people, having become beasts, will have to live here in the
forest and hunt and fight for food, and often go hungry, as you now
do, and have no place to sleep but a bed of leaves or a hole in the
The Magic of Oz |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Sylvie and Bruno by Lewis Carroll: some of it in!"
At this moment Bruno appeared, wearing a little white apron to show
that he was a Cook, and carrying a tureen full of very queer-looking
soup. I watched very carefully as he moved about among the Frogs;
but I could not see that any of them opened their mouths to be fed--
except one very young one, and I'm nearly sure it did it accidentally,
in yawning. However Bruno instantly put a large spoonful of soup into
its mouth, and the poor little thing coughed violently for some time.
So Sylvie and I had to share the soup between us, and to pretend to
enjoy it, for it certainly was very queerly cooked.
I only ventured to take one spoonful of it ("Sylvie's Summer-Soup,"
Sylvie and Bruno |
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 The Battle of the Books by Jonathan Swift: able to take a jest. It is admirable to observe one who is
dexterous at this art, singling out a weak adversary, getting the
laugh on his side, and then carrying all before him. The French,
from whom we borrow the word, have a quite different idea of the
thing, and so had we in the politer age of our fathers. Raillery
was, to say something that at first appeared a reproach or
reflection, but, by some turn of wit unexpected and surprising,
ended always in a compliment, and to the advantage of the person it
was addressed to. And surely one of the best rules in conversation
is, never to say a thing which any of the company can reasonably
wish we had rather left unsaid; nor can there anything be well more
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