| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from A Personal Record by Joseph Conrad: the Emperor, the Grand Duke Constantine (Pavlovitch), its Viceroy
and Commander-in-Chief, married morganatically to a Polish lady
to whom he was fiercely attached, extended this affection to what
he called "My Poles" in a capricious and savage manner. Sallow
in complexion, with a Tartar physiognomy and fierce little eyes,
he walked with his fists clenched, his body bent forward, darting
suspicious glances from under an enormous cocked hat. His
intelligence was limited, and his sanity itself was doubtful.
The hereditary taint expressed itself, in his case, not by mystic
leanings as in his two brothers, Alexander and Nicholas (in their
various ways, for one was mystically liberal and the other
A Personal Record |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Case of the Golden Bullet by Grace Isabel Colbron and Augusta Groner: turned the key in pretense only, soon vanished. It would have been
a foolish suspicion anyway. If he were in league with the murderer,
he could have let the latter escape with much more safety during the
night. Horn let his eyes wander about the rooms again, and said
slowly: "Then the murderer is still here - or else - "
"Or else?" asked the doctor.
"Or else we have a strange riddle to solve."
Johann had laid the pistol down again. Muller stretched forth his
hand and took it up. He looked at it a moment, then handed it to
the commissioner. "We have to do with a murder here. There was
not a shot fired from this revolver, for every chamber is still
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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 Perfect Wagnerite: A Commentary on the Niblung's Ring by George Bernard Shaw: that Mozart and Beethoven invented these applications of their
art; but they were the first whose works made it clear that the
dramatic and subjective powers of sound were enthralling enough
to stand by themselves quite apart from the decorative musical
structures of which they had hitherto been a mere feature. After
the finales in Figaro and Don Giovanni, the possibility of
the modern music drama lay bare. After the symphonies of
Beethoven it was certain that the poetry that lies too deep for
words does not lie too deep for music, and that the vicissitudes
of the soul, from the roughest fun to the loftiest aspiration,
can make symphonies without the aid of dance tunes. As much,
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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 Adventure by Jack London: She nodded.
"It isn't nice," she said. "I'll go back and wait for you with the
horses."
"But you can't go alone. Take two of the men."
"Then I'll go on," she said. "It would be foolish to weaken the
pursuit, and I am certainly not tired."
The trail bent to the right as though the runaways had changed
their mind and headed for the Balesuna. But the trail still
continued to bend to the right till it promised to make a loop, and
the point of intersection seemed to be the edge of the plantation
where the horses had been left. Crossing one of the quiet jungle
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