| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from From London to Land's End by Daniel Defoe: entered Hampshire, near Hartleroe.
Before we reach Basingstoke, we get rid of that unpleasant country
which I so often call a desert, and enter into a pleasant fertile
country, enclosed and cultivated like the rest of England; and
passing a village or two we enter Basingstoke, in the midst of
woods and pastures, rich and fertile, and the country accordingly
spread with the houses of the nobility and gentry, as in other
places. On the right hand, a little before we come to the town, we
pass at a small distance the famous fortress, so it was then, of
Basing, being a house belonging then to the Marquis of Winchester,
the great ancestor of the present family of the Dukes of Bolton.
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Collected Articles by Frederick Douglass: with a full knowledge that the people expect and require it.
The members go to Washington fresh from the inspiring presence of the people.
In every considerable public meeting, and in almost every conceivable way,
whether at court-house, school-house, or cross-roads, in doors and out,
the subject has been discussed, and the people have emphatically pronounced
in favor of a radical policy. Listening to the doctrines of expediency
and compromise with pity, impatience, and disgust, they have everywhere
broken into demonstrations of the wildest enthusiasm when a brave word
has been spoken in favor of equal rights and impartial suffrage.
Radicalism, so far from being odious, is not the popular passport to power.
The men most bitterly charged with it go to Congress with the
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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 Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery: I am. And I won't try to imagine it away, either. I never
thought I was vain about my hair, of all things, but now I know I
was, in spite of its being red, because it was so long and thick
and curly. I expect something will happen to my nose next."
Anne's clipped head made a sensation in school on the following
Monday, but to her relief nobody guessed the real reason for it,
not even Josie Pye, who, however, did not fail to inform Anne
that she looked like a perfect scarecrow.
"I didn't say anything when Josie said that to me," Anne confided
that evening to Marilla, who was lying on the sofa after one of
her headaches, "because I thought it was part of my punishment
Anne of Green Gables |
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 Lin McLean by Owen Wister: the stress became too great. "Lin," said he, "while you're running with
our crowd, you don't want to wear that style of hat, you know."
It may be that such words can in some way be spoken at such a time, but
not in the way that these were said. The frozen fact was irrevocably
revealed in the tone of Frank's voice.
The cow-puncher stopped dead short, and his hand slid off his brother's
shoulder. "You've made it plain," he said, evenly, slanting his steady
eyes down into Frank's. "You've explained yourself fairly well. Run along
with your crowd, and I'll not bother yu' more with comin' round and
causin' yu' to feel ashamed. It's a heap better to understand these
things at once, and save making a fool of yourself any longer 'n yu' need
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