| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Great Big Treasury of Beatrix Potter by Beatrix Potter: store for winter and spring."
Goody Tiptoes was busy pushing
moss under the thatch--"The nest
is so snug, we shall be sound
asleep all winter." "Then we shall
wake up all the thinner, when
there is nothing to eat in spring-
time," replied prudent Timothy.
When Timmy and Goody
Tiptoes came to the nut
thicket, they found other
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from In the South Seas by Robert Louis Stevenson: nearer, that was plain. They were Makin people, I believe,
probably staunch heathens, contemners of the missionary and his
works. Of a sudden, however, a man broke from their company, took
to his heels, and fled into the church; next moment three had
followed him; the next it was a covey of near upon a score, all
pelting for their lives. So the little band of the heathen paused
irresolute at the corner, and melted before the attractions of a
magic lantern, like a glacier in spring. The more staunch vainly
taunted the deserters; three fled in a guilty silence, but still
fled; and when at length the leader found the wit or the authority
to get his troop in motion and revive the singing, it was with much
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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 The Children of the Night by Edwin Arlington Robinson: They fluttered off like withered souls of men.
Aaron Stark
Withal a meagre man was Aaron Stark, --
Cursed and unkempt, shrewd, shrivelled, and morose.
A miser was he, with a miser's nose,
And eyes like little dollars in the dark.
His thin, pinched mouth was nothing but a mark;
And when he spoke there came like sullen blows
Through scattered fangs a few snarled words and close,
As if a cur were chary of its bark.
Glad for the murmur of his hard renown,
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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 The Arrow of Gold by Joseph Conrad: letter in his own hand."
Perhaps he expected me to acknowledge this announcement in some
way, speech, or bow, or something, because before my immobility he
made a slight movement in his chair which smacked of impatience.
"I am afraid, Senor, that you are affected by the spirit of
scoffing and irreverence which pervades this unhappy country of
France in which both you and I are strangers, I believe. Are you a
young man of that sort?"
"I am a very good gun-runner, your Excellency," I answered quietly.
He bowed his head gravely. "We are aware. But I was looking for
the motives which ought to have their pure source in religion."
The Arrow of Gold |
