| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Adventure by Jack London: "The Upolu sailed all right." Captain Auckland sipped his whisky
with provoking slowness. "Only Miss Lackland wasn't a passenger."
"Then where is she?"
"At Guvutu, last I saw of her. She was going to Sydney to buy a
schooner, wasn't she?"
"Yes, yes."
"That's what she said. Well, she's bought one, though I wouldn't
give her ten shillings for it if a nor'wester blows up, and it's
about time we had one. This has been too long a spell of good
weather to last."
"If you came here to excite my curiosity, old man," Sheldon said,
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Faraday as a Discoverer by John Tyndall: wave-motion, which, on subsiding, would generate its due equivalent
of heat. This intermediate stage, in the case of our moving wire,
is represented by the period during which the electric current is
flowing through it; but that current, like the ripples of our
liquid, soon subsides, being, like them, converted into heat.
Do these words shadow forth anything like the reality? Such
speculations cannot be injurious if they are enunciated without
dogmatism. I do confess that ideas such as these here indicated
exercise a strong fascination on my mind. Is then the magnetic
field really viscous, and if so, what substance exists in it and the
wire to produce the viscosity? Let us first look at the proved
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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 Youth by Joseph Conrad: the towing had fanned the smoldering destruction. A
blue gleam appeared forward, shining below the wreck
of the deck. It wavered in patches, it seemed to stir and
creep like the light of a glowworm. I saw it first, and
told Mahon. 'Then the game's up,' he said. 'We had
better stop this towing, or she will burst out suddenly
fore and aft before we can clear out.' We set up a yell;
rang bells to attract their attention; they towed on. At
last Mahon and I had to crawl forward and cut the rope
with an ax. There was no time to cast off the lashings.
Red tongues could be seen licking the wilderness of
Youth |
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 Reef by Edith Wharton: Her smile flickered up. "Oh, you'll hear about it soon...I
must catch Effie now and drag her back to the blackboard."
She walked on for a few yards, and then paused again and
confronted him. "I've been odious to you--and not quite
honest," she broke out suddenly.
"Not quite honest?" he repeated, caught in a fresh wave of
wonder.
"I mean, in seeming not to trust you. It's come over me
again as we talked that, at heart, I've always KNOWN I
could..."
Her colour rose in a bright wave, and her eyes clung to his
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