| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Troll Garden and Selected Stories by Willa Cather: get into the corn, an' I had to fire him. That's about the way it
goes. Now there's Eric; that chap used to be a hustler and the
spryest dancer in all this section-called all the dances. Now he's
got no ambition and he's glum as a preacher. I don't suppose we
can even get him to come in tomorrow night."
"Eric? Why, he must dance, we can't let him off," said
Margaret, quickly. "Why, I intend to dance with him myself."
"I'm afraid he won't dance. I asked him this morning if he'd
help us out and he said, 'I don't dance now, any more,' " said
Lockhart, imitating the laboured English of the Norwegian.
"'The Miller of Hofbau, the Miller of Hofbau, O my Princess!'"
The Troll Garden and Selected Stories |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Adventure by Jack London: Gogoomy's guttural command they refused to pay.
"S'pose you go along Tulagi," Sheldon warned him, "you catch 'm
strong fella whipping and you stop along jail three fella year.
Mr. Burnett, he look 'm along Winchester, look 'm along cartridge,
look 'm along revolver, look 'm along black powder, look 'm along
dynamite--my word, he cross too much, he give you three fella year
along jail. S'pose you no like 'm pay three fella pound you stop
along jail. Savvee?"
Gogoomy wavered.
"It's true--that's what Burnett would give them," Sheldon said in
an aside to Joan.
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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 Pagan and Christian Creeds by Edward Carpenter: the two names.
In November 1850--or between that date and October 1851,
a book appeared, written by one of the Bb's earliest
and most enthusiastic disciples--a merchant of Kashan--
and giving in quite simple and unpretending form a record
of the above events. There is in it no account of miracles
or of great pretensions to godhood and the like. It is just
a plain history of the life and death of a beloved teacher. It
was cordially received and circulated far and wide; and
we have no reason for doubting its essential veracity. And
even if proved now to be inaccurate in one or two details, this
Pagan and Christian Creeds |
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 Amazing Interlude by Mary Roberts Rinehart: reminiscent of Uncle James on mornings when he was determined not to
go to church.
"It's not our fight," he said. "And as far as that goes, I'm not so
sure there isn't right on both sides. Or wrong. Most likely wrong.
I'd look fine going over there to help the Allies, and then making up my
mind it was the British who'd spilled the beans. Now let's talk about
something interesting - for instance, how much we love each other."
It was always "we" with Harvey. In his simple creed if a girl accepted
a man and let him kiss her and wore his ring it was a reciprocal love
affair. It never occurred to him that sometimes as the evening dragged
toward a close Sara Lee was just a bit weary of his arms, and that she
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