| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Idylls of the King by Alfred Tennyson: And each made joy of either; then he asked,
"Where is he? hast thou seen him--Lancelot?--Once,"
Said good Sir Bors, "he dashed across me--mad,
And maddening what he rode: and when I cried,
`Ridest thou then so hotly on a quest
So holy,' Lancelot shouted, `Stay me not!
I have been the sluggard, and I ride apace,
For now there is a lion in the way.'
So vanished."
`Then Sir Bors had ridden on
Softly, and sorrowing for our Lancelot,
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Collected Articles by Frederick Douglass: of progress and enlightenment have failed. Whether the oppressed
and despairing bondman, no longer able to repress his deep yearnings
for manhood, or the tyrant, in his pride and impatience, takes the initiative,
and strikes the blow for a firmer hold and a longer lease of oppression,
the result is the same,--society is instructed, or may be.
Such are the limitations of the common mind, and so thoroughly
engrossing are the cares of common life, that only the few among
men can discern through the glitter and dazzle of present prosperity
the dark outlines of approaching disasters, even though they may have
come up to our very gates, and are already within striking distance.
The yawning seam and corroded bolt conceal their defects from the mariner
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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 O Pioneers! by Willa Cather: "Oh, what a beauty! I've never seen this one
before, have I, Mrs. Lee?"
The old woman giggled and ducked her head.
"No, yust las' night I ma-ake. See dis tread;
verra strong, no wa-ash out, no fade. My sis-
ter send from Sveden. I yust-a ta-ank you like
dis."
Marie ran to the door again. "Come in,
Alexandra. I have been looking at Mrs. Lee's
O Pioneers! |
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 Gobseck by Honore de Balzac: and this is not natural, for you know how much I love him.'
" 'Yes, mamma.'
"The Countess began to cry. 'Poor child!' she said, 'this misfortune
is the result of treacherous insinuations. Wicked people have tried to
separate me from your father to satisfy their greed. They mean to take
all our money from us and to keep it for themselves. If your father
were well, the division between us would soon be over; he would listen
to me; he is loving and kind; he would see his mistake. But now his
mind is affected, and his prejudices against me have become a fixed
idea, a sort of mania with him. It is one result of his illness. Your
father's fondness for you is another proof that his mind is deranged.
Gobseck |
