| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Schoolmistress and Other Stories by Anton Chekhov: the filthy square heaped up with dung, the signboards of
restaurants, the turreted walls of a monastery in the fog.
Sometimes he runs across the street and looks into the grocer's
shop, admires the jars of cakes of different colors, yawns, and
lazily saunters back to his room. The city does not interest him.
At last the bullocks are sold to a dealer. Malahin hires drovers.
The cattle are divided into herds, ten in each, and driven to the
other end of the town. The bullocks, exhausted, go with drooping
heads through the noisy streets, and look indifferently at what
they see for the first and last time in their lives. The tattered
drovers walk after them, their heads drooping too. They are
The Schoolmistress and Other Stories |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Menexenus by Plato: 'whither the wind blows.' That no conclusion is arrived at is also in
accordance with the character of the earlier dialogues. The resemblances
or imitations of the Gorgias, Protagoras, and Euthydemus, which have been
observed in the Hippias, cannot with certainty be adduced on either side of
the argument. On the whole, more may be said in favour of the genuineness
of the Hippias than against it.
The Menexenus or Funeral Oration is cited by Aristotle, and is interesting
as supplying an example of the manner in which the orators praised 'the
Athenians among the Athenians,' falsifying persons and dates, and casting a
veil over the gloomier events of Athenian history. It exhibits an
acquaintance with the funeral oration of Thucydides, and was, perhaps,
|
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Lady Susan by Jane Austen: the heart to ask questions, but I hope we shall soon know all. This is the
most joyful hour he has ever given us since the day of his birth. Nothing
is wanting but to have you here, and it is our particular wish and entreaty
that you would come to us as soon as you can. You have owed us a visit many
long weeks; I hope nothing will make it inconvenient to Mr. Vernon; and
pray bring all my grand-children; and your dear niece is included, of
course; I long to see her. It has been a sad, heavy winter hitherto,
without Reginald, and seeing nobody from Churchhill. I never found the
season so dreary before; but this happy meeting will make us young again.
Frederica runs much in my thoughts, and when Reginald has recovered his
usual good spirits (as I trust he soon will) we will try to rob him of his
Lady Susan |
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 Redheaded Outfield by Zane Grey: sister were to be used to win him away from the
Bellville nine. He knew the trick; it had been
played upon him before.
But never had any other such occasion given
him a feeling of regret. This case was different.
She was the girl. And she meant to flirt with him,
to use her eyes for all they were worth to
encompass the Waterloo of the rival team.
No, he had made a mistake, after all--she was
not the real girl. Suddenly conscious of a little
shock of pain, he dismissed that dream girl from
The Redheaded Outfield |
