| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Chance by Joseph Conrad: whole extent of their intercourse. Captain Anthony was a silent
man, completely unused to the society of girls of any sort and so
shy in fact that he avoided raising his eyes to her face at the
table. It was perfectly absurd. It was even inconvenient,
embarrassing to her--Mrs. Fyne. After breakfast Flora would go off
by herself for a long walk and Captain Anthony (Mrs. Fyne referred
to him at times also as Roderick) joined the children. But he was
actually too shy to get on terms with his own nieces.
This would have sounded pathetic if I hadn't known the Fyne children
who were at the same time solemn and malicious, and nursed a secret
contempt for all the world. No one could get on terms with those
Chance |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Youth by Joseph Conrad: bright light traveling in the night. 'There's a steamer
passing the bay,' I said. She was not passing, she was
entering, and she even came close and anchored. 'I
wish,' said the old man, 'you would find out whether she
is English. Perhaps they could give us a passage some-
where.' He seemed nervously anxious. So by dint of
punching and kicking I started one of my men into a
state of somnambulism, and giving him an oar, took
another and pulled towards the lights of the steamer.
"There was a murmur of voices in her, metallic hollow
clangs of the engine-room, footsteps on the deck. Her
Youth |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Essays of Francis Bacon by Francis Bacon: is more pliant to all expressions and sounds, the
joints are more supple, to all feats of activity and
motions, in youth than afterwards. For it is true,
that late learners cannot so well take the ply; ex-
cept it be in some minds, that have not suffered
themselves to fix, but have kept themselves open,
and prepared to receive continual amendment,
which is exceeding rare. But if the force of cus-
tom simple and separate, be great, the force of
custom copulate and conjoined and collegiate, is
far greater. For there example teacheth, company
Essays of Francis Bacon |
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 Les Miserables by Victor Hugo: furiously?"
The district-attorney had remained standing; he addressed the President:--
"Monsieur le President, in view of the confused but exceedingly
clever denials of the prisoner, who would like to pass himself
off as an idiot, but who will not succeed in so doing,--
we shall attend to that,--we demand that it shall please you
and that it shall please the court to summon once more into
this place the convicts Brevet, Cochepaille, and Chenildieu,
and Police-Inspector Javert, and question them for the last
time as to the identity of the prisoner with the convict Jean Valjean."
"I would remind the district-attorney," said the President,
Les Miserables |
