| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Early Short Fiction of Edith Wharton by Edith Wharton: That morning at three o'clock an alarm of fire brought the
engines to Mrs. Black's door, and also brought Mrs. Sampson's
startled boarders to their windows. The wooden balcony at the
back of Mrs. Black's house was ablaze, and among those who
watched the progress of the flames was Mrs. Manstey, leaning in
her thin dressing-gown from the open window.
The fire, however, was soon put out, and the frightened occupants
of the house, who had fled in scant attire, reassembled at dawn
to find that little mischief had been done beyond the cracking of
window panes and smoking of ceilings. In fact, the chief
sufferer by the fire was Mrs. Manstey, who was found in the
|
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Marvelous Land of Oz by L. Frank Baum: looking at the Woggle-Bug with a severe expression.
"You have; and I've restrained a good many of them," replied the insect.
"But there are opportunities for so many excellent puns in our language
that, to an educated person like myself, the temptation to express them is
almost irresistible."
"People with more or less education discovered those puns centuries ago,"
said Tip.
"Are you sure?" asked the Woggle-Bug, with a startled look.
"Of course I am," answered the boy. "An educated Woggle-Bug may be a new
thing; but a Woggle-Bug education is as old as the hills, judging from the
display you make of it."
The Marvelous Land of Oz |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from On Horsemanship by Xenophon: conceive the matter, they will proceed most correctly in dealing
with horses." {ippeuein} in the case of Xenophon = serve as a
{ippeus}, whether technically as an Athenian "knight" or more
particularly in reference to his organisation of a troop of
cavalry during "the retreat" ("Anab." III. iii. 8-20), and, as is
commonly believed, while serving under Agesilaus ("Hell." III. iv.
14) in Asia, 396, 395 B.C.
There is, it is true, a treatise on horsemanship written by Simon, the
same who dedicated the bronze horse near the Eleusinion in Athens[2]
with a representation of his exploits engraved in relief on the
pedestal.[3] But we shall not on that account expunge from our
On Horsemanship |
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 Fantastic Fables by Ambrose Bierce: So he took his pen, and, some demon guiding his hand, he wrote,
greatly to his astonishment:
"Who sells his influence should stop it,
An honest man will only swap it."
The Rainmaker
AN Officer of the Government, with a great outfit of mule-waggons
loaded with balloons, kites, dynamite bombs, and electrical
apparatus, halted in the midst of a desert, where there had been no
rain for ten years, and set up a camp. After several months of
preparation and an expenditure of a million dollars all was in
readiness, and a series of tremendous explosions occurred on the
Fantastic Fables |
