| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Daisy Miller by Henry James: There was a waning moon in the sky, and her radiance was not brilliant,
but she was veiled in a thin cloud curtain which seemed to diffuse
and equalize it. When, on his return from the villa (it was eleven
o'clock), Winterbourne approached the dusky circle of the Colosseum,
it recurred to him, as a lover of the picturesque, that the interior,
in the pale moonshine, would be well worth a glance. He turned aside
and walked to one of the empty arches, near which, as he observed,
an open carriage--one of the little Roman streetcabs--was stationed.
Then he passed in, among the cavernous shadows of the great structure,
and emerged upon the clear and silent arena. The place had never
seemed to him more impressive. One-half of the gigantic circus
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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 Beasts of Tarzan by Edgar Rice Burroughs: Kaviri's own canoe went in advance of the others a short
distance, and as it rounded a sharp bend in the river where
the swift current bore it rapidly on its way it came suddenly
upon the thing that Kaviri sought.
So close were the two canoes to one another that the black
had only an opportunity to note the white face in the bow of
the oncoming craft before the two touched and his own men
were upon their feet, yelling like mad devils and thrusting
their long spears at the occupants of the other canoe.
But a moment later, when Kaviri was able to realize the
nature of the crew that manned the white man's dugout, he
The Beasts of Tarzan |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from A Simple Soul by Gustave Flaubert: stone at its base, and it was surrounded by a little plot enclosed by
chains. The flower-beds were bright with blossoms. Felicite watered
their leaves, renewed the gravel, and knelt on the ground in order to
till the earth properly. When Madame Aubain was able to visit the
cemetery she felt very much relieved and consoled.
Years passed, all alike and marked by no other events than the return
of the great church holidays: Easter, Assumption, All Saints' Day.
Household happenings constituted the only data to which in later years
they often referred. Thus, in 1825, workmen painted the vestibule; in
1827, a portion of the roof almost killed a man by falling into the
yard. In the summer of 1828, it was Madame's turn to offer the
A Simple Soul |
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 Tour Through Eastern Counties of England by Daniel Defoe: there is a particular felicity in this fortification, viz., that
though the entrance or opening of the river into the sea is very
wide, especially at high-water, at least two miles, if not three
over; yet the Channel, which is deep, and in which the ships must
keep and come to the harbour, is narrow, and lies only on the side
of the fort, so that all the ships which come in or go out must
come close under the guns of the fort - that is to say, under the
command of their shot.
The fort is on the Suffolk side of the bay or entrance, but stands
so far into the sea upon the point of a sand or shoal, which runs
out toward the Essex side, as it were, laps over the mouth of that
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