| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Plutarch's Lives by A. H. Clough: great talk of his wisdom and his justice." Thus Solon was drawn on by
every answer, and his fears heightened, till at last, being extremely
concerned, he mentioned his own name, and asked the stranger if that
young man was called Solon's son; and the stranger assenting, he began
to beat his head, and to do and say all that is usual with men in
transports of grief. But Thales took his hand, and, with a smile, said,
"These things, Solon, keep me from marriage and rearing children, which
are too great for even your constancy to support; however, be not
concerned at the report, for it is a fiction." This Hermippus relates,
from Pataecus, who boasted that he had Aesop's soul.
However, it is irrational and poor-spirited not to seek conveniences for
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Tattine by Ruth Ogden [Mrs. Charles W. Ide]: knows that they do lure flies, snapping at them all day long, and just for the
fun of it too, not because they need them for food, as birds do. Mamma, I
don't believe there's anything meaner than a Laverack setter. Still, Tadjie
would never have done such a thing, I know." Mrs. Gerald was silent, and
Tattine, expecting her to confirm what she had said, grew a little suspicious.
"Would Tadjie, Mamma?" with a directness that would not admit of indirectness.
"Yes, Tattine; Tadjie would. She was trained to hunt before ever she was given
to Papa, and so were her ancestors before her. That is why Doctor and Betsy,
who have never been trained to hunt, go wild over the rabbits. They have
inherited the taste."
"Trained to hunt," said Tattine thoughtfully. "Do you mean that men just went
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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 Sesame and Lilies by John Ruskin: mind, and remember that every day of your early life is ordaining
irrevocably, for good or evil, the custom and practice of your soul;
ordaining either sacred customs of dear and lovely recurrence, or
trenching deeper and deeper the furrows for seed of sorrow. Now,
therefore, see that no day passes in which you do not make yourself
a somewhat better creature: and in order to do that, find out,
first, what you are now. Do not think vaguely about it; take pen
and paper, and write down as accurate a description of yourself as
you can, with the date to it. If you dare not do so, find out why
you dare not, and try to get strength of heart enough to look
yourself fairly in the face in mind as well as body. I do not doubt
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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 Schoolmistress and Other Stories by Anton Chekhov: man sits, his legs stretched out before him, musing in silence;
the young man half reclines and softly strums on a cheap
accordion. A lantern with a tallow candle in it is hanging on the
wall near them.
The van is quite full. If one glances in through the dim light of
the lantern, for the first moment the eyes receive an impression
of something shapeless, monstrous, and unmistakably alive,
something very much like gigantic crabs which move their claws
and feelers, crowd together, and noiselessly climb up the walls
to the ceiling; but if one looks more closely, horns and their
shadows, long lean backs, dirty hides, tails, eyes begin to stand
The Schoolmistress and Other Stories |
