| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne: by the wayside. These ruinous huts seemed to solicit charity from
passers-by; and on very small provocation we should have given alms
for the relief of the poor inmates. In this country there were no
roads and paths, and the poor vegetation, however slow, would soon
efface the rare travellers' footsteps.
Yet this part of the province, at a very small distance from the
capital, is reckoned among the inhabited and cultivated portions of
Iceland. What, then, must other tracts be, more desert than this
desert? In the first half mile we had not seen one farmer standing
before his cabin door, nor one shepherd tending a flock less wild
than himself, nothing but a few cows and sheep left to themselves.
Journey to the Center of the Earth |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Herodias by Gustave Flaubert: But now, beginning at the farthest end of the banqueting-hall, a
murmur of surprise and admiration swept through the multitude. A
beautiful young girl had just entered the apartment, and stood
motionless for an instant, while all eyes were turned upon her.
Through a drapery of filmy blue gauze that veiled her head and throat,
her arched eyebrows, tiny ears, and ivory-white skin could be
distinguished. A scarf of shot-silk fell from her shoulders, and was
caught up at the waist by a girdle of fretted silver. Her full
trousers, of black silk, were embroidered in a pattern of silver
mandragoras, and as she moved forward with indolent grace, her little
feet were seen to be shod with slippers made of the feathers of
Herodias |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from The Boys' Life of Abraham Lincoln by Helen Nicolay: the intellectual faculties of all engaged."
In another letter, answering a young friend who complained of
being neglected, he said:
"Nothing could afford me more satisfaction than to learn that you
and others of my young friends at home are doing battle in the
contest and taking a stand far above any I have ever been able to
reach. . . . I cannot conceive that other old men feel
differently. Of course I cannot demonstrate what I say; but I was
young once, and I am sure I was never ungenerously thrust back. I
hardly know what to say. The way for a young man to rise is to
improve himself every way he can, never suspecting that anybody
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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 Black Dwarf by Walter Scott: the wise Mr. Justice Freeman, the good Lady Jones, and the great
Sir Thomas Truby. This ceremonious frost, however, soon gave way
before the incentives to merriment, which were liberally
supplied, and as liberally consumed by the guests of the lower
description. They became talkative, loud, and even clamorous in
their mirth.
But it was not in the power of wine or brandy to elevate the
spirits of those who held the higher places at the banquet. They
experienced the chilling revulsion of spirits which often takes
place, when men are called upon to take a desperate resolution,
after having placed themselves in circumstances where it is alike
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