| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Mother by Owen Wister: assessed valuation--'"
"'What is the good,' she interrupted, 'of a first lien on something which
depends on politics for its existence, if the politicians change their
minds? Did you not see that bill they're thinking of passing?' I was
startled by what Ethel told me, for the article in the paper had escaped
my notice. But Mr. Beverly explained it to me in a couple of minutes.
'Ha!' he jovially exclaimed, on my entering his office on Monday morning;
'you want to know about Petunias. They opened at 85 I see.' He then ran
the tape from the ticker through his clean strong hands. 'Here they are
again. Five thousand sold at 83. Now, if they go to 70, I'll very likely
take ten thousand more for mother. It's all Frank Smith's bluff, you
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Little Rivers by Henry van Dyke: to a narrow strait, and in the swift current, close to the point,
the great trout had fixed their spawning-bed from time immemorial.
It was the first week in September, and the magnates of the lake
were already assembling--the Common Councilmen and the Mayor and
the whole Committee of Seventy. There were giants in that place,
rolling lazily about, and chasing each other on the surface of the
water. "Look, M'sieu'!" cried Francois, in excitement, as we lay
at anchor in the gray morning twilight; "one like a horse has just
leaped behind us; I assure you, big like a horse!"
But the fish were shy and dour. Old Castonnier, the guardian of
the lake, lived in his hut on the shore, and flogged the water,
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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 Concerning Christian Liberty by Martin Luther: learned and best of the cardinals. What are these among so many?
You would all perish by poison before you could undertake to
decide on a remedy. It is all over with the Court of Rome; the
wrath of God has come upon her to the uttermost. She hates
councils; she dreads to be reformed; she cannot restrain the
madness of her impiety; she fills up the sentence passed on her
mother, of whom it is said, "We would have healed Babylon, but
she is not healed; let us forsake her." It had been your duty and
that of your cardinals to apply a remedy to these evils, but this
gout laughs at the physician's hand, and the chariot does not
obey the reins. Under the influence of these feelings, I have
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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 Chance by Joseph Conrad: ceased to be funny; that hostile word "jailer" had given the
situation an air of reality.
Franklin's grotesque mortal envelope had disappeared from the poop
to seek its needful repose, if only the worried soul would let it
rest a while. Mr. Powell, half sorry for the thick little man,
wondered whether it would let him. For himself, he recognized that
the charm of a quiet watch on deck when one may let one's thoughts
roam in space and time had been spoiled without remedy. What
shocked him most was the implied aspersion of complicity on Mrs.
Anthony. It angered him. In his own words to me, he felt very
"enthusiastic" about Mrs. Anthony. "Enthusiastic" is good;
Chance |
