| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Altar of the Dead by Henry James: found a sharper and sharper pang in the imagination of her
darkness; for never so much as in these weeks had his rites been
real, never had his gathered company seemed so to respond and even
to invite. He lost himself in the large lustre, which was more and
more what he had from the first wished it to be - as dazzling as
the vision of heaven in the mind of a child. He wandered in the
fields of light; he passed, among the tall tapers, from tier to
tier, from fire to fire, from name to name, from the white
intensity of one clear emblem, of one saved soul, to another. It
was in the quiet sense of having saved his souls that his deep
strange instinct rejoiced. This was no dim theological rescue, no
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Letters of Two Brides by Honore de Balzac: marvelously successful.
"I repeat it, your happiness is my object. Never allow yourself, then,
to forget that the first three months of your married life may work
your misery if you do not submit to the yoke with the same
forbearance, tenderness, and intelligence that you have shown during
the days of courtship. For, my little rogue, you know very well that
you have indulged in all the innocent pleasures of a clandestine love
affair. If the culmination of your love begins with disappointment,
dislike, nay, even with pain, well, come and tell me about it. Don't
hope for too much from marriage at first; it will perhaps give you
more discomfort than joy. The happiness of your life requires at least
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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 Enemies of Books by William Blades: did those many books contain, and how famous would the library
now be that could boast of possessing but a few of them.
[1] The received opinion is that the "pieces of silver" here mentioned
were Roman denarii, which were the silver pieces then commonly used
in Ephesus. If now we weigh a denarius against modern silver,
it is exactly equal to ninepence, and fifty thousand times ninepence
gives L1,875. It is always a difficult matter to arrive at a just
estimate of the relative value of the same coin in different ages;
but reckoning that money then had at least ten times the purchasing
value of money now, we arrive at what was probably about the value
of the magical books burnt, viz.: L18,750.
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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 Warlord of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs: of thern warriors stood just behind the little party.
As I entered the enclosure the eyes of those in the balcony
were full upon me.
An ugly smile distorted the cruel lips of Matai Shang. Thurid
hurled a taunt at me and placed a familiar hand upon the shoulder
of my princess. Like a tigress she turned upon him, striking the
beast a heavy blow with the manacles upon her wrist.
He would have struck back had not Matai Shang interfered, and then
The Warlord of Mars |
