| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Witch, et. al by Anton Chekhov: perspiration; he took out of his pocket a little crooked
cucumber, like a half-moon, covered with crumbs of rye bread, and
began thrusting it into the little girl's hands.
"Come, come," he muttered, scowling severely; "take the little
cucumber, eat it up. . . . You mustn't cry. Mamma will whip you.
. . . She'll tell your father of you when you get home. Come,
come. . . ."
They walked on, and he still followed behind them, wanting to say
something friendly and persuasive to them. And seeing that they
were both absorbed in their own thoughts and their own griefs,
and not noticing him, he stopped and, shading his eyes from the
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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 Master Key by L. Frank Baum: again, or any other uncivilized country."
"Then I will add to your possessions three gifts, each more precious
and important than the three you have already received."
At this announcement Rob began to quiver with excitement, and sat
staring eagerly at the Demon, while the latter increased in stature
and sparkled and glowed more brilliantly than ever.
8. Rob Acquires New Powers
"I have seen the folly of sending you into the world with an offensive
instrument, yet with no method of defense," resumed the Demon,
presently. "You have knocked over a good many people with that tube
during the past week."
The Master Key |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from The Time Machine by H. G. Wells: did so my hand came against my iron lever. It gave me strength.
I struggled up, shaking the human rats from me, and, holding the
bar short, I thrust where I judged their faces might be. I could
feel the succulent giving of flesh and bone under my blows, and
for a moment I was free.
`The strange exultation that so often seems to accompany hard
fighting came upon me. I knew that both I and Weena were lost,
but I determined to make the Morlocks pay for their meat. I
stood with my back to a tree, swinging the iron bar before me.
The whole wood was full of the stir and cries of them. A minute
passed. Their voices seemed to rise to a higher pitch of
The Time Machine |
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 Crisis in Russia by Arthur Ransome: and, so far as we can, we must be ready to depend on
ourselves alone. For example, we want mechanical plows
which could be procured abroad. We have had to start
making them ourselves. The first electric plow made in
Russia and used in Russia started work last year, and this
year we shall have a number of such plows made in our
country, not because it is economic so to make them, but
because we could get them in no other way. In so far as is
possible, we shall have to make ourselves self-supporting, so
as somehow or other to get along even if the blockade,
formal or perhaps willy-nilly (imposed by the inability of the
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