| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Lesson of the Master by Henry James: plan?" Sometimes he cried to himself, breathless, "Have I been
duped, sold, swindled?" If at all, he was an absurd, an abject
victim. It was as if he hadn't lost her till now. He had
renounced her, yes; but that was another affair - that was a closed
but not a locked door. Now he seemed to see the door quite slammed
in his face. Did he expect her to wait - was she to give him his
time like that: two years at a stretch? He didn't know what he
had expected - he only knew what he hadn't. It wasn't this - it
wasn't this. Mystification bitterness and wrath rose and boiled in
him when he thought of the deference, the devotion, the credulity
with which he had listened to St. George. The evening wore on and
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from A Straight Deal by Owen Wister: lay between ourselves and Spain, or France, or Germany, or any foreign
power, England stood with us against them.
"And another thing. Not all Americans boast, but we have a reputation for
boasting. Our Secretary of the Navy gave our navy the whole credit for
transporting our soldiers to Europe when England did more than half of
it. At Annapolis there has been a poster, showing a big American sailor
with a doughboy on his back, and underneath the words, 'We put them
across.' A brigadier general has written a book entitled, How the Marines
Saved Paris. Beside the marines there were some engineers. And how about
M Company of the 23rd regiment of the 2nd Division? It lost in one day at
Chateau-Thierry all its men but seven. And did the general forget the 3rd
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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 Deserted Woman by Honore de Balzac: liberty has risen in your mind, if my love is no burden on you, if
my fears are chimerical, if I am still your Eve--the one woman in
the world for you--come to me as soon as you have read this
letter, come quickly! Ah, in one moment I will love you more than
I have ever loved you, I think, in these nine years. After
enduring the needless torture of these doubts of which I am
accusing myself, every added day of love, yes, every single day,
will be a whole lifetime of bliss. So speak, and speak openly; do
not deceive me, it would be a crime. Tell me, do you wish for your
liberty? Have you thought of all that a man's life means? Is there
any regret in your mind? That /I/ should cause you a regret! I
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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 Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte: the gates were generally looked, and I thought she would scarcely
venture forth alone, if they had stood wide open. Unluckily, my
confidence proved misplaced. Catherine came to me, one morning, at
eight o'clock, and said she was that day an Arabian merchant, going
to cross the Desert with his caravan; and I must give her plenty of
provision for herself and beasts: a horse, and three camels,
personated by a large hound and a couple of pointers. I got
together good store of dainties, and slung them in a basket on one
side of the saddle; and she sprang up as gay as a fairy, sheltered
by her wide-brimmed hat and gauze veil from the July sun, and
trotted off with a merry laugh, mocking my cautious counsel to
Wuthering Heights |
