| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald: "You're very polite, but I belong to another generation," he announced
solemnly. "You sit here and discuss your sports and your young ladies and
your----" He supplied an imaginary noun with another wave of his hand.
"As for me, I am fifty years old, and I won't impose myself on you any
longer."
As he shook hands and turned away his tragic nose was trembling.
I wondered if I had said anything to offend him.
"He becomes very sentimental sometimes," explained Gatsby. "This is one of
his sentimental days. He's quite a character around New York--a denizen of
Broadway."
"Who is he, anyhow, an actor?"
The Great Gatsby |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from St. Ives by Robert Louis Stevenson: God! - what a country! And cold, too! They talk about Russia -
this is all the cold I want! And the people - look at them! What
a race! Never any handsome men; never any fine officers!' - and he
looked down complacently for a moment at his waist - 'And the women
- what faggots! No, that is one point clear, I cannot stomach the
English!'
There was something in this man so antipathetic to me, as sent the
mustard into my nose. I can never bear your bucks and dandies,
even when they are decent-looking and well dressed; and the Major -
for that was his rank - was the image of a flunkey in good luck.
Even to be in agreement with him, or to seem to be so, was more
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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 Lord Arthur Savile's Crime, etc. by Oscar Wilde: immense relief.
That night he had an interview with Sybil Merton. He told her how
he had been suddenly placed in a position of terrible difficulty,
from which neither honour nor duty would allow him to recede. He
told her that the marriage must be put off for the present, as
until he had got rid of his fearful entanglements, he was not a
free man. He implored her to trust him, and not to have any doubts
about the future. Everything would come right, but patience was
necessary.
The scene took place in the conservatory of Mr. Merton's house, in
Park Lane, where Lord Arthur had dined as usual. Sybil had never
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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 Illustrious Gaudissart by Honore de Balzac: farther--"
At these words the madman looked anxiously at Gaudissart, thinking he
meant to go away; but was reassured when he saw that he kept his seat.
"You may even be nothing at all," said Gaudissart, going on with his
phrases, "but you are conscious of yourself; you feel yourself--"
"I feel myself," said the lunatic.
"--you feel yourself a great man; you say to yourself, 'I will be a
minister of state.' Well, then, you--painter, artist, man of letters,
statesman of the future--you reckon upon your talents, you estimate
their value, you rate them, let us say, at a hundred thousand
crowns--"
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