| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Tom Sawyer Abroad by Mark Twain: balloon up a little, and stopped it again as soon as the
end of the ladder was ten or twelve feet above ground.
And there was the lion, a-ripping around under me,
and roaring and springing up in the air at the ladder,
and only missing it about a quarter of an inch, it
seemed to me. It was delicious to be out of his reach,
perfectly delicious, and made me feel good and thank-
ful all up one side; but I was hanging there helpless
and couldn't climb, and that made me feel perfectly
wretched and miserable all down the other. It is most
seldom that a person feels so mixed like that; and it is
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Eugenie Grandet by Honore de Balzac: life; I must take a commonplace view of them and do the best I
can. Therefore I must think of marriage, which becomes one of the
necessities of my future existence; and I will admit to you that I
have found, here in Saumur, in my uncle's house, a cousin whose
face, manners, mind, and heart would please you, and who, besides,
seems to me--
"He must have been very weary to have ceased writing to her," thought
Eugenie, as she gazed at the letter which stopped abruptly in the
middle of the last sentence.
Already she defended him. How was it possible that an innocent girl
should perceive the cold-heartedness evinced by this letter? To young
Eugenie Grandet |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Almayer's Folly by Joseph Conrad: most of the inhabitants remained in the long street discussing
the mysterious return and the unexpected death of the man who had
become known to them as the trader. His arrival during the
north-east monsoon, his long sojourn in their midst, his sudden
departure with his brig, and, above all, the mysterious
appearance of the body, said to be his, amongst the logs, were
subjects to wonder at and to talk over and over again with
undiminished interest. Mahmat moved from house to house and from
group to group, always ready to repeat his tale: how he saw the
body caught by the sarong in a forked log; how Mrs. Almayer
coming, one of the first, at his cries, recognised it, even
Almayer's Folly |
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 Finished by H. Rider Haggard: quite unknown to that beloved physician and so unfamiliar to
myself that I attribute them to the influences of the locality.
Altitude affects the heart, does it not, and this house stands
high."
"Don't play off your jokes on me," I said sternly. "What do you
mean?"
"I wonder if you find Miss Heda attractive, Allan, or if you are
too old. I believe there comes an age when the only beauties
that can move a man are those of architecture, or scenery, or
properly cooked food."
"Hang it all! I am not Methusaleh," I replied; "but if you mean
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