| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Philebus by Plato: when they are relieved by scratching; sometimes the feeling of pleasure:
or the pleasure which they give may be quite overpowering, and is then
accompanied by all sorts of unutterable feelings which have a death of
delights in them. But there are also mixed pleasures which are in the mind
only. For are not love and sorrow as well as anger 'sweeter than honey,'
and also full of pain? Is there not a mixture of feelings in the spectator
of tragedy? and of comedy also? 'I do not understand that last.' Well,
then, with the view of lighting up the obscurity of these mixed feelings,
let me ask whether envy is painful. 'Yes.' And yet the envious man finds
something pleasing in the misfortunes of others? 'True.' And ignorance is
a misfortune? 'Certainly.' And one form of ignorance is self-conceit--a
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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 Works of Samuel Johnson by Samuel Johnson: I lost thirty pounds by this great adventure.
I had now wholly changed the cast of my behaviour
and the conduct of my life. The shop was for
the most part abandoned to my servants, and if I
entered it, my thoughts were so engrossed by my
tickets, that I scarcely heard or answered a
question, but considered every customer as an intruder
upon my meditations, whom I was in haste to
despatch. I mistook the price of my goods,
committed blunders in my bills, forgot to file my
receipts, and neglected to regulate my books. My
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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 Witch, et. al by Anton Chekhov: and deserted. From time to time the strains of mu sic floated
faintly from the end of the street -- Alyoshka, most likely,
playing his concertina.
Someone moved in the shadow near the church enclosure, and Sofya
could not make out whether it were a man or a cow, or perhaps
merely a big bird rustling in the trees. But then a figure
stepped out of the shadow, halted, and said something in a man's
voice, then vanished down the turning by the church. A little
later, not three yards from the gate, another figure came into
sight; it walked straight from the church to the gate and stopped
short, seeing Sofya on the bench.
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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 The Passionate Pilgrim by William Shakespeare: Pluck'd in the bud, and vaded in the spring!
Bright orient pearl, alack, too timely shaded!
Fair creature, kill'd too soon by death's sharp sting!
Like a green plum that hangs upon a tree,
And falls, through wind, before the fall should he.
I weep for thee, and yet no cause I have;
For why thou left'st me nothing in thy will:
And yet thou left'st me more than I did crave;
For why I craved nothing of thee still:
O yes, dear friend, I pardon crave of thee,
Thy discontent thou didst bequeath to me.
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