| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Charmides and Other Poems by Oscar Wilde: And what remains to us of thee?
No more the shepherd lads in glee
Throw apples at thy wattled fold,
O goat-foot God of Arcady!
Nor through the laurels can one see
Thy soft brown limbs, thy beard of gold
And what remains to us of thee?
And dull and dead our Thames would be,
For here the winds are chill and cold,
O goat-loot God of Arcady!
Then keep the tomb of Helice,
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Shadow out of Time by H. P. Lovecraft: of truth, had human feet pressed upon those immemorial pavements.
Of the particular goal of my insane racing, my conscious mind
held no hint. There was, however, some force of evil potency pulling
at my dazed will and buried recollection, so that I vaguely felt
I was not running at random.
I came to a downward incline and
followed it to profounder depths. Floors flashed by me as I raced,
but I did not pause to explore them. In my whirling brain there
had begun to beat a certain rhythm which set my right hand twitching
in unison. I wanted to unlock something, and felt that I knew
all the intricate twists and pressures needed to do it. It would
Shadow out of Time |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Across The Plains by Robert Louis Stevenson: syrup in a very poor, bare drinking shop. The hostess, a comely
woman, suckling a child, examined the traveller with kindly and
pitying eyes. "You are not of this department?" she asked. The
Arethusa told her he was English. "Ah!" she said, surprised. "We
have no English. We have many Italians, however, and they do very
well; they do not complain of the people of hereabouts. An
Englishman may do very well also; it will be something new." Here
was a dark saying, over which the Arethusa pondered as he drank his
grenadine; but when he rose and asked what was to pay, the light
came upon him in a flash. "O, POUR VOUS," replied the landlady,
"a halfpenny!" POUR VOUS? By heaven, she took him for a beggar!
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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 Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin by Benjamin Franklin: knew its temper, and was Mr. Quincy's countryman, he appli'd to me
for my influence and assistance. I dictated his address to them,
which was well receiv'd. They voted an aid of ten thousand pounds,
to be laid out in provisions. But the governor refusing his
assent to their bill (which included this with other sums granted
for the use of the crown), unless a clause were inserted exempting
the proprietary estate from bearing any part of the tax that would
be necessary, the Assembly, tho' very desirous of making their grant
to New England effectual, were at a loss how to accomplish it.
Mr. Quincy labored hard with the governor to obtain his assent,
but he was obstinate.
The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin |
