| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Poems by Bronte Sisters: Is in that deep blue sky;
The golden sun of June declines,
It has not caught her eye.
The cheerful lawn, and unclosed gate,
The white road, far away,
In vain for her light footsteps wait,
She comes not forth to-day.
There is an open door of glass
Close by that lady's chair,
From thence, to slopes of messy grass,
Descends a marble stair.
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The White Moll by Frank L. Packard: She shook her head.
"Even that wouldn't clear you," she said. "The safe has been looted
of money, as well; and you can't replace that. Even with only the
money gone, who would they first naturally suspect? You are known as
a safe-breaker; you have served a term for it. You asked for a night
off to stay with your mother who is sick. You left Mr. Hayden-Bond's,
we'll say, at seven or eight o'clock. It's after midnight now. How
long would it take them to find out that between eight and midnight
you had not only never been near your mother, but could not prove an
alibi of any sort? If you told the truth it would sound absurd. No
one in their sober senses would believe you."
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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 Master and Man by Leo Tolstoy: His wife--pregnant, thin and pale, with her head and shoulders
wrapped in a shawl so that nothing of her face could be seen
but her eyes--stood behind him in the vestibule to see him off.
'Now really, you ought to take Nikita with you,' she said
timidly, stepping out from the doorway.
Vasili Andreevich did not answer. Her words evidently annoyed
him and he frowned angrily and spat.
'You have money on you,' she continued in the same plaintive
voice. 'What if the weather gets worse! Do take him, for
goodness' sake!'
'Why? Don't I know the road that I must needs take a guide?'
Master and Man |
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 On the Duty of Civil Disobedience by Henry David Thoreau: his are almost the only sensible and valuable words,
and we thank Heaven for him. Comparatively, he is always
strong, original, and, above all, practical. Still, his
quality is not wisdom, but prudence. The lawyer's truth
is not Truth, but consistency or a consistent expediency.
Truth is always in harmony with herself, and is not
concerned chiefly to reveal the justice that may consist
with wrong-doing. He well deserves to be called, as he has
been called, the Defender of the Constitution. There are
really no blows to be given him but defensive ones. He is
not a leader, but a follower. His leaders are the men of
On the Duty of Civil Disobedience |
