| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy: simply that I haven't the time."
"No; you don't care, perhaps, to meet Stremov? Let him and Alexey
Alexandrovitch tilt at each other in the committee--that's no
affair of ours. But in the world, he's the most amiable man I
know, and a devoted croquet- player. You shall see. And, in spite
of his absurd position as Liza's lovesick swain at his age, you
ought to see how he carries off the absurd position. He's very
nice. Sappho Shtoltz you don't know? Oh, that's a new type, quite
new."
Betsy said all this, and, at the same time, from her
good-humored, shrewd glance, Anna felt that she partly guessed
Anna Karenina |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx: on the continued existence of these relations; reforms,
therefore, that in no respect affect the
relations between capital and labour, but, at the best, lessen
the cost, and simplify the administrative work, of bourgeois
government.
Bourgeois Socialism attains adequate expression, when, and only
when, it becomes a mere figure of speech.
Free trade: for the benefit of the working class. Protective
duties: for the benefit of the working class. Prison Reform: for
the benefit of the working class. This is the last word and the
only seriously meant word of bourgeois Socialism.
The Communist Manifesto |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Bureaucracy by Honore de Balzac: and Rabourdin, whom he thus interrupted; "in another week you will
probably be appointed--"
The minister smiled as he thought of des Lupeaulx's enthusiasm for
Madame Rabourdin, and he glanced knowingly at his wife. Rabourdin saw
the look, and tried to imagine its meaning; his attention was diverted
for a moment, and his Excellency took advantage of the fact to make
his escape.
"We will talk of all this, you and I," said des Lupeaulx, with whom
Rabourdin, much to his surprise, now found himself alone. "Don't be
angry with Dutocq; I'll answer for his discretion."
"Madame Rabourdin is charming," said the minister's wife, wishing to
|
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 Miracle Mongers and Their Methods by Harry Houdini: Really Incombustible Phenomenon, as he
was billed abroad, or J. Xavier Chabert, A.M.,
M.D., etc., as he was afterwards known in this
country, was probably the most notable, and
certainly the most interesting, character in
the history of fire-eating, fire-resistance, and
poison eating. He was the last prominent figure
in the long line of this type of artists to appeal
to the better classes and to attract the attention
of scientists, who for a considerable period
treated his achievements more or less seriously.
Miracle Mongers and Their Methods |
