| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Another Study of Woman by Honore de Balzac: each one forget his own interests, his personal conceit, or, if you
like, his pretensions.
At about two in the morning, as supper ended, no one was left sitting
round the table but intimate friends, proved by intercourse of fifteen
years, and some persons of great taste and good breeding, who knew the
world. By tacit agreement, perfectly carried out, at supper every one
renounced his pretensions to importance. Perfect equality set the
tone. But indeed there was no one present who was not very proud of
being himself.
Mademoiselle des Touches always insists on her guests remaining at
table till they leave, having frequently remarked the change which a
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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 Travels of Sir John Mandeville by Sir John Mandeville: crown, half is at Paris, and the other half at Constantinople. And
this crown had Christ on his head, when he was done upon the cross;
and therefore ought men to worship it and hold it more worthy than
any of the others.
And the spear shaft hath the Emperor of Almayne; but the head is at
Paris. And natheles the Emperor of Constantinople saith that he
hath the spear head; and I have often time seen it, but it is
greater than that at Paris.
CHAPTER III
OF THE CITY OF CONSTANTINOPLE, AND OF THE FAITH OF GREEKS
AT Constantinople lieth Saint Anne, our Lady's mother, whom Saint
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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 Moon-Face and Other Stories by Jack London: hand and heart," he said, on the night he donned my good black suit.
And I confess I was startled when I glanced over the top of my paper and saw a
lofty-browed and eminently respectable-looking gentleman, boldly and
carelessly at ease. The Sunflower was right. He must have known better days
for the black suit and white shirt to have effected such a transformation.
Involuntarily I rose to my feet, prompted to meet him on equal ground. And
then it was that the Clay-Randolph glamour descended upon me. He slept at
Idlewild that night, and the next night, and for many nights. And he was a man
to love. The Son of Anak, otherwise Rufus the Blue-Eyed, and also plebeianly
known as Tots, rioted with him from brier-rose path to farthest orchard,
scalped him in the haymow with barbaric yells, and once, with pharisaic zeal,
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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 Finished by H. Rider Haggard: all put them into the dangers, but considered it wise to hold my
tongue. I think, however, that he guessed my thought, if one can
talk of guessing in connection with Zikali, for he said that they
had no reason to thank him, since if he had served their turn
they had served his, adding--
"It will be strange in the times to be for the lady Heddana to
remember that it was she and no other who crumpled up the Zulus
like a frostbitten winter reed, since had she not appeared upon
the rock in the Valley of Bones, there would have been no war."
"She did not do this, you did it, Zikali," I said, "making her
your tool through love and fear."
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