| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Options by O. Henry: setting of black mud and emerald prairies--that she was--a--a corker;
and as for mine, I cared not if she were as crtiel as a serpent's
tooth to her fond parents, or if she couldn't tell a plugged dollar
from a bridle buckle, if I might sing, chant, praise, glorify, and
worship her peerless and wonderful beauty.
But I refrained. I feared the fate of a flatterer. I had witnessed
her delight at the crafty and discreet words of Bud and Jacks. No!
Miss Hinkle was not one to be beguiled by the plated-silver tongue of
a flatterer. So I joined the ranks of the candid and honest. At once
I became mendacious and didactic.
"In all ages, Miss Hinkle," said I, "in spite of the poetry and
Options |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Glaucus/The Wonders of the Shore by Charles Kingsley: modern theories of the "evolution and progress" of organic forms:
let the man of science decide that. But if true, the theories seem
to me perfectly to agree with, and may be perfectly explained by,
the simple old belief which the Bible sets before us, of a LIVING
GOD: not a mere past will, such as the Koran sets forth, creating
once and for all, and then leaving the universe, to use Goethe's
simile, "to spin round his finger;" nor again, an "all-pervading
spirit," words which are mere contradictory jargon, concealing,
from those who utter them, blank Materialism: but One who works in
all things which have obeyed Him to will and to do of His good
pleasure, keeping His abysmal and self-perfect purpose, yet
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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 King James Bible: strove with the LORD, and he was sanctified in them.
NUM 20:14 And Moses sent messengers from Kadesh unto the king of Edom,
Thus saith thy brother Israel, Thou knowest all the travail that hath
befallen us:
NUM 20:15 How our fathers went down into Egypt, and we have dwelt in
Egypt a long time; and the Egyptians vexed us, and our fathers:
NUM 20:16 And when we cried unto the LORD, he heard our voice, and sent
an angel, and hath brought us forth out of Egypt: and, behold, we are in
Kadesh, a city in the uttermost of thy border:
NUM 20:17 Let us pass, I pray thee, through thy country: we will not
pass through the fields, or through the vineyards, neither will we drink
King James Bible |
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 Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen: and he was anxious for her seeing as much of the country
as possible."
The remembrance of Mr. Allen's opinion, respecting young
men's open carriages, made her blush at the mention
of such a plan, and her first thought was to decline it;
but her second was of greater deference for General
Tilney's judgment; he could not propose anything
improper for her; and, in the course of a few minutes,
she found herself with Henry in the curricle, as happy
a being as ever existed. A very short trial convinced her
that a curricle was the prettiest equipage in the world;
Northanger Abbey |
