| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The King of the Golden River by John Ruskin: my mug?"
On which the little man turned sharp round, walked straight
up to Gluck, and drew himself up to his full height. "I," said
the little man, "am the King of the Golden River." Whereupon he
turned about again and took two more turns, some six feet long, in
order to allow time for the consternation which this announcement
produced in his auditor to evaporate. After which he again walked
up to Gluck and stood still, as if expecting some comment on his
communication.
Gluck determined to say something at all events. "I hope your
Majesty is very well," said Gluck.
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Crisis in Russia by Arthur Ransome: his hatred of compromise, and a sort of mixed originality
and perverseness keep him almost permanently at
loggerheads with the Central Committee, he retains
everybody's respect because of the real heroism with which
he conquers physical disabilities which long ago would have
overwhelmed a less unbreakable spirit. Both Radek and
Larin were going to the Communist Conference at Jaroslavl
which was to consider the new theses of the Central
Committee of the party with regard to Industrial
Conscription. Radek was going to defend the position of the
Central Committee, Larin to defend his own. Both are old
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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 Democracy In America, Volume 1 by Alexis de Toqueville: single district in the United States sunk in complete ignorance;
and for a very simple reason: the peoples of Europe started from
the darkness of a barbarous condition, to advance toward the
light of civilization; their progress has been unequal; some of
them have improved apace, whilst others have loitered in their
course, and some have stopped, and are still sleeping upon the
way. *i
[Footnote i: [In the Northern States the number of persons
destitute of instruction is inconsiderable, the largest number
being 241,152 in the State of New York (according to Spaulding's
"Handbook of American Statistics" for 1874); but in the South no
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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 Ferragus by Honore de Balzac: service of his grandmother, whose affection for himself was one of
those semi-maternal sentiments which are the sublime of the
commonplace. Without confiding in her wholly, he charged her to buy
secretly and daily, in different localities, the food he needed;
telling her to keep it under lock and key and bring it to him herself,
not allowing any one, no matter who, to approach her while preparing
it. He took the most minute precautions to protect himself against
that form of death. He was ill in his bed and alone, and he had
therefore the leisure to think of his own security,--the one necessity
clear-sighted enough to enable human egotism to forget nothing!
But the unfortunate man had poisoned his own life by this dread, and,
Ferragus |
