| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Kwaidan by Lafcadio Hearn: soon they will fade and fall. Then, in the time of summer heat, there will
be green leaves only; and presently the winds of autumn will blow, when
even the leaves themselves will shower down like rain, parari-parari. And
your fate will then be as the fate of the unlucky in the proverb, Tanomi ki
no shita ni ame furu [Even through the tree upon which I relied for shelter
the rain leaks down]. For you will seek out your old friend, the
root-cutting insect, the grub, and beg him to let you return into your
old-time hole;-- but now having wings, you will not be able to enter the
hole because of them, and you will not be able to shelter your body
anywhere between heaven and earth, and all the moor-grass will then have
withered, and you will not have even one drop of dew with which to moisten
Kwaidan |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Damaged Goods by Upton Sinclair: wish to warn you that you might possibly catch the disease of the
child."
The woman pouted. "A cold in the head!" she exclaimed. "Well,
if I catch it, it won't be the first time. I know how to blow my
nose."
"But you might also get the pimples."
At this the nurse burst into laughter so loud that the
bric-a-brac rattled. "Oh, oh, oh! Dear lady, let me tell you,
we ain't city folks, we ain't; we don't have such soft skins.
What sort of talk is that? Pimples--what difference would that
make to poor folks like us? We don't have a white complexion like the ladies
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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 Poor and Proud by Oliver Optic: but the dignity of the trade depended upon her efforts in seeking
the offender. Ann entered various shops, and seemed to be having
very good luck with her stock. At last she appeared to grow tired
of her labors, and turned into an alley. Katy wondered what she
was going to do there, for it was certainly no place to sell
candy. She waited sometime for her to come out, and when she
heard her steps, she placed herself at the corner of the alley,
in such a position that Ann could not see her face.
Presently she heard Ann crying with all her might; and crying so
very naturally that she could hardly persuade herself that it was
not real. She glanced over her shoulder at her, and discovered
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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 Persuasion by Jane Austen: are more absurd, I believe, than those of any other set of beings
in the world. The folly of the means they often employ
is only to be equalled by the folly of what they have in view."
But he must not be addressing his reflections to Anne alone:
he knew it; he was soon diffused again among the others,
and it was only at intervals that he could return to Lyme.
His enquiries, however, produced at length an account of the scene
she had been engaged in there, soon after his leaving the place.
Having alluded to "an accident," he must hear the whole.
When he questioned, Sir Walter and Elizabeth began to question also,
but the difference in their manner of doing it could not be unfelt.
Persuasion |
