| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald: long time, his face close to the window pane, nodding into the twilight.
By six o'clock Michaelis was worn out, and grateful for the sound of a
car stopping outside. It was one of the watchers of the night before
who had promised to come back, so he cooked breakfast for three, which
he and the other man ate together. Wilson was quieter now, and Michaelis
went home to sleep; when he awoke four hours later and hurried back to the
garage, Wilson was gone.
His movements--he was on foot all the time--were afterward traced to Port
Roosevelt and then to Gad's Hill, where he bought a sandwich that he
didn't eat, and a cup of coffee. He must have been tired and walking
slowly, for he didn't reach Gad's Hill until noon. Thus far there was
The Great Gatsby |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Scarecrow of Oz by L. Frank Baum: "Then it isn't worth talking about," declared the
Bumpy Man, helping himself again from the steaming
kettle, for he had been eating all the time he talked.
"For my part," sighed Cap'n Bill, "I'd like a decent
square meal, once more, just by way of variety. In the
last place there was nothing but fruit to eat, and here
it's worse, for there's nothing but candy."
"Molasses candy isn't so bad," said Trot. "Mine's
nearly cool enough to pull, already. Wait a bit, Cap'n,
and you can eat it."
A little later she was able to gather the candy from
The Scarecrow of Oz |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from The Garden Party by Katherine Mansfield: rose! And he knew it, too. He couldn't help knowing it. First he stroked
his hair, then his moustache; his teeth gleamed when he smiled.
"The headmaster's wife keeps on asking me to dinner. It's a perfect
nuisance. I never get an evening to myself in that place."
"But can't you refuse?"
"Oh, well, it doesn't do for a man in my position to be unpopular."
"Music's Gay Measure," wailed the voices. The willow trees, outside the
high, narrow windows, waved in the wind. They had lost half their leaves.
The tiny ones that clung wriggled like fishes caught on a line. "...I am
not a marrying man..." The voices were silent; the piano waited.
"Quite good," said Miss Meadows, but still in such a strange, stony tone
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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 Hidden Masterpiece by Honore de Balzac: "By the blood, by the body, by the head of Christ, you are envious men
who seek to make me think she is spoiled, that you may steal her from
me. I--I see her!" he cried. "She is wondrously beautiful!"
At this moment Poussin heard the weeping of Gillette as she stood,
forgotten, in a corner.
"What troubles thee, my darling?" asked the painter, becoming once
more a lover.
"Kill me!" she answered. "I should be infamous if I still loved thee,
for I despise thee. I admire thee; but thou hast filled me with
horror. I love, and yet already I hate thee."
While Poussin listened to Gillette, Frenhofer drew a green curtain
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