| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Dawn O'Hara, The Girl Who Laughed by Edna Ferber: hands, and the rareness of your laugh, and the simplicity
of you. Why I love the very cleanliness of your ruddy
skin, and the way your hair grows away from your
forehead, and your walk, and your voice and--Oh, what is
the use of it all?"
"Just this, Dawn. The light of day sweetens all
things. We have dragged this thing out into the
sunlight, where, if it grows, it will grow
sanely and healthily. It was but an ugly, distorted,
unsightly thing, sending out pale unhealthy shoots in the
dark, unwholesome cellars of our inner consciences.
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Anthem by Ayn Rand: were weary, and they tarried over their
work, and they were far from the road
when we came. But the Golden One stood
alone at the hedge, waiting. We stopped
and we saw that their eyes, so hard and
scornful to the world, were looking at us as
if they would obey any word we might speak.
And we said:
"We have given you a name in our
thoughts, Liberty 5-3000."
"What is our name?" they asked.
 Anthem |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from The Country Doctor by Honore de Balzac: tassels, showed that the cure had been a wealthy man. Benassis had
made some additions to this furniture, which was not without a
character of its own. He had placed two smaller tables, decorated with
carved wooden garlands, between the windows on opposite sides of the
room, and had put a clock, in a case of tortoise shell, inlaid with
copper, upon the mantel-shelf. The doctor seldom occupied the salon;
its atmosphere was damp and close, like that of a room that is always
kept shut. Memories of the dead cure still lingered about it; the
peculiar scent of his tobacco seemed to pervade the corner by the
hearth where he had been wont to sit. The two great easy-chairs were
symmetrically arranged on either side of the fire, which had not been
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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 Unconscious Comedians by Honore de Balzac: The Secrets of a Princess
The Gondreville Mystery
A Daughter of Eve
Massol
Scenes from a Courtesan's Life
The Magic Skin
A Daughter of Eve
Cousin Betty
Nathan, Raoul
Lost Illusions
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