| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The $30,000 Bequest and Other Stories by Mark Twain: explain itself. And doesn't need to.
It is what I think. But I am only a girl, the first that has
examined this matter, and it may turn out that in my ignorance
and inexperience I have not got it right.
Forty Years Later
It is my prayer, it is my longing, that we may pass from this
life together--a longing which shall never perish from the earth,
but shall have place in the heart of every wife that loves,
until the end of time; and it shall be called by my name.
But if one of us must go first, it is my prayer that it shall be I;
for he is strong, I am weak, I am not so necessary to him as he is
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Agesilaus by Xenophon: brutality, Spithridates delivered up himself, his wife, his children,
and his whole power, into the hands of Agesilaus. Cotys[2] also, the
ruler of Paphlagonia, had refused to obey a summons from the king,
although he sent him the warrant of his right hand;[3] then fear came
upon him lest he should be seized, and either be heavily fined or die
the death; yet he too, simply trusting to an armistice, came to the
camp of Agesilaus and made alliance, and of his own accord chose to
take the field with Agesilaus, bringing a thousand horsemen and two
thousand targeteers. Lastly, Pharnabazus[4] himself came and held
colloquy with Agesilaus, and openly agreed that if he were not himself
appointed general-in-chief of the royal forces he would revolt from
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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 The Heritage of the Desert by Zane Grey: He bestirred himself at the first glimpse of day, and when the gray mists
had lifted to wreathe the crags it was light enough to begin the journey.
Mescal shed tears at the grave of the faithful peon. "He loved this
canyon," she said, softly. Hare lifted her upon Silvermane. He walked
beside the horse and Wolf trotted on before. They travelled awhile under
the flowering cottonwoods on a trail bordered with green tufts of grass
and great star-shaped lilies. The river was still hidden, but it filled
the grove with its soft thunder. Gradually the trees thinned out, hard
stony ground encroached upon the sand, bowlders appeared in the way; and
presently, when Silvermane stepped out of the shade of the cottonwoods,
Hare saw the lower end of the valley with its ragged vent.
The Heritage of the Desert |
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 Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz by L. Frank Baum: curved, and they found they must cross a mile or so of the Valley
before they came to the Pyramid Mountain. There were few houses in
this part, and few orchards or flowers; so our friends feared they
might encounter more of the savage bears, which they had learned to
dread with all their hearts.
"You'll have to make a dash, Jim," said the Wizard, "and run as fast
as you can go."
"All right," answered the horse; "I'll do my best. But you must
remember I'm old, and my dashing days are past and gone."
All three got into the buggy and Zeb picked up the reins, though Jim
needed no guidance of any sort. The horse was still smarting from the
Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz |
