| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Babbitt by Sinclair Lewis: dinner-invitation.
As the hosts of Sir Gerald Doak, the McKelveys were headlined all the week
after the Babbitts' dinner. Zenith ardently received Sir Gerald (who had come
to America to buy coal). The newspapers interviewed him on prohibition,
Ireland, unemployment, naval aviation, the rate of exchange, tea-drinking
versus whisky-drinking, the psychology of American women, and daily life as
lived by English county families. Sir Gerald seemed to have heard of all those
topics. The McKelveys gave him a Singhalese dinner, and Miss Elnora Pearl
Bates, society editor of the Advocate-Times, rose to her highest lark-note.
Babbitt read aloud at breakfast-table:
'Twixt the original and Oriental decorations, the strange and delicious food,
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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 House of Pomegranates by Oscar Wilde: And when the young King heard this he gave a great cry, and woke,
and through the window he saw the long grey fingers of the dawn
clutching at the fading stars.
And he fell asleep again, and dreamed, and this was his dream.
He thought that he was wandering through a dim wood, hung with
strange fruits and with beautiful poisonous flowers. The adders
hissed at him as he went by, and the bright parrots flew screaming
from branch to branch. Huge tortoises lay asleep upon the hot mud.
The trees were full of apes and peacocks.
On and on he went, till he reached the outskirts of the wood, and
there he saw an immense multitude of men toiling in the bed of a
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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 Moran of the Lady Letty by Frank Norris: at him.
"Ross, you are a born-and-bred city man. It's in the blood of you
and the bones of you. I'll give you three years for this new
notion of yours to wear itself out. You think just now you're
going to spend the rest of your life as an amateur buccaneer. In
three years, at the outside, you'll be using your 'loot,' as you
call it, or the interest of it, to pay your taxes and your tailor,
your pew rent and your club dues, and you'll be what the
biographers call 'a respectable member of the community.'"
"Did you ever kill a man, Jerry?" asked Wilbur. "No? Well, you
kill one some day--kill him in a fair give-and-take fight--and see
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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 Koran: there is no fear for them, and they shall not be grieved. These are
the fellows of Paradise to dwell therein for aye, a recompence for
that which they have done.
We have prescribed for man kindness towards his parents. His
mother bore him with trouble and brought him forth with trouble; and
the bearing of him and the weaning of him is thirty months; until,
when he reaches puberty, and reaches forty years, he says, 'Lord! stir
me up that I may be thankful for thy favours wherewith thou hast
favoured me and my parents; and that I may do right to please Thee;
and make it right for me in my offspring; verily, I turn repentant
unto Thee, and, verily, I am of those resigned.'
The Koran |
