| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Damaged Goods by Upton Sinclair: RABBI SIMON, OF THE WASHINGTON HEBREW CONGREGATION--If I could
preach from my pulpit a sermon one tenth as powerful, as
convincing, as far-reaching, and as helpful as this performance
of DAMAGED GOODS must be, I would consider that I had achieved
the triumph of my life.
COMMISSIONER CUNO H. RUDOLPH--I was deeply impressed by what I
saw, and I think that the drama should be repeated in every city,
a matinee one day for father and son and the next day for mother
and daughter.
REV. EARLE WILFLEY--I am confirmed in the opinion that we must
take up our cudgels in a crusade against the modern problems
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from An Inland Voyage by Robert Louis Stevenson: the more infinite are the class distinctions among men; and
possibly, by a happy dispensation, there is no one at all at the
bottom of the scale; no one but can find some superiority over
somebody else, to keep up his pride withal.
We were displeased enough with our fare. Particularly the
CIGARETTE, for I tried to make believe that I was amused with the
adventure, tough beefsteak and all. According to the Lucretian
maxim, our steak should have been flavoured by the look of the
other people's bread-berry. But we did not find it so in practice.
You may have a head-knowledge that other people live more poorly
than yourself, but it is not agreeable - I was going to say, it is
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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 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne: "I only know, Captain, what the principal soundings have taught us."
"Could you tell me them, so that I can suit them to my purpose?"
"These are some," I replied, "that I remember. If I am not mistaken,
a depth of 8,000 yards has been found in the North Atlantic,
and 2,500 yards in the Mediterranean. The most remarkable soundings
have been made in the South Atlantic, near the thirty-fifth parallel,
and they gave 12,000 yards, 14,000 yards, and 15,000 yards.
To sum up all, it is reckoned that if the bottom of the sea were levelled,
its mean depth would be about one and three-quarter leagues."
"Well, Professor," replied the Captain, "we shall show you better
than that I hope. As to the mean depth of this part of the Pacific,
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea |
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 Tono Bungay by H. G. Wells: once," he explained. My special and distinctive duty was to
give Tono-Bungay substance and an outward and visible bottle, to
translate my uncle's great imaginings into the creation of case
after case of labelled bottles of nonsense, and the punctual
discharge of them by railway, road and steamer towards their
ultimate goal in the Great Stomach of the People. By all modern
standards the business was, as my uncle would say, "absolutely
bona fide." We sold our stuff and got the money, and spent the
money honestly in lies and clamour to sell more stuff. Section
by section we spread it over the whole of the British Isles;
first working the middle-class London suburbs, then the outer
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