| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Paz by Honore de Balzac: on the other hand, has architecture discovered so many economical ways
of imitating the real and the solid, or displayed more resources, more
talent, in distributing them. Propose to an architect to build upon
the garden at the back of an old mansion, and he will run you up a
little Louvre overloaded with ornament. He will manage to get in a
courtyard, stables, and if you care for it, a garden. Inside the house
he will accommodate a quantity of little rooms and passages. He is so
clever in deceiving the eye that you think you will have plenty of
space; but it is only a nest of small rooms, after all, in which a
ducal family has to turn itself about in the space that its own
bakehouse formerly occupied.
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from A treatise on Good Works by Dr. Martin Luther: are and keep what they have, and so has put up a bar to ward off
all reformation, to retain protection and liberty for all their
knavery, although this oath is demanded, forced and taken
contrary to God and the law, and by it the doors are locked
against the Holy Spirit, Who should rule the councils. But this
would be the best, and also the only remedy remaining, if kings,
princes, nobility, cities and communities themselves began and
opened a way for reformation, so that the bishops and clergy, who
now are afraid, would have reason to follow. For here nothing
else shall and must be considered except God's first three
Commandments, against which neither Rome, nor heaven nor earth
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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 Burning Daylight by Jack London: Among other good things resulting from his growing intimacy with
Dede, was Daylight's not caring to drink so much as formerly.
There was a lessening in desire for alcohol of which even he at
last became aware. In a way she herself was the needed
inhibition. The thought of her was like a cocktail. Or, at any
rate, she substituted for a certain percentage of cocktails.
From the strain of his unnatural city existence and of his
intense gambling operations, he had drifted on to the cocktail
route. A wall must forever be built to give him easement from
the high pitch, and Dede became a part of this wall. Her
personality, her laughter, the intonations of her voice, the
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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 Youth by Joseph Conrad: we had been fighting it, we saw the fire. The speed of
the towing had fanned the smoldering destruction. A
blue gleam appeared forward, shining below the wreck
of the deck. It wavered in patches, it seemed to stir and
creep like the light of a glowworm. I saw it first, and
told Mahon. 'Then the game's up,' he said. 'We had
better stop this towing, or she will burst out suddenly
fore and aft before we can clear out.' We set up a yell;
rang bells to attract their attention; they towed on. At
last Mahon and I had to crawl forward and cut the rope
with an ax. There was no time to cast off the lashings.
Youth |
