| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Lysis by Plato: Most assuredly, I said, those songs are all in your own honour; for if you
win your beautiful love, your discourses and songs will be a glory to you,
and may be truly regarded as hymns of praise composed in honour of you who
have conquered and won such a love; but if he slips away from you, the more
you have praised him, the more ridiculous you will look at having lost this
fairest and best of blessings; and therefore the wise lover does not praise
his beloved until he has won him, because he is afraid of accidents. There
is also another danger; the fair, when any one praises or magnifies them,
are filled with the spirit of pride and vain-glory. Do you not agree with
me?
Yes, he said.
Lysis |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Underground City by Jules Verne: "Harry! Harry!" cried Ryan, throwing himself down beside his friend.
It was indeed the engineer, Madge, Simon, and Harry Ford who were
lying there motionless. But one of the bodies moved slightly,
and Madge's voice was heard faintly murmuring, "See to the others!
help them first!"
Sir William, Jack, and their companions endeavored to reanimate
the engineer and his friends by getting them to swallow a few drops
of brandy. They very soon succeeded. The unfortunate people,
shut up in that dark cavern for ten days, were dying of starvation.
They must have perished had they not on three occasions
found a loaf of bread and a jug of water set near them.
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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 Stories From the Old Attic by Robert Harris: an old, nearsighted man was wandering down a country road quite
pleasantly, musing to himself thusly: "I wonder what I should seek
today? Some new treasure of the Orient, or a lost clue to the
secrets of nature? That would be nice, as I spit" (and here, had
there been but a small brass spittoon by the wayside, a clear ring
would have sounded across the nearby pastures), "but," continued the
old man, "this is pretty barren ground hereabouts, so I'd best not
set my hopes too high. I'll start by looking for a silver dollar."
With this thought, the man's eyes brightened and he continued now
more alertly down the road, staring intently at the ground and
knocking little pebbles around with his cane. After a little, he
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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 Black Arrow by Robert Louis Stevenson: "Then," said Dick, "ye shall die unshriven. Here am I, and here
shall stay. There shall no priest come near you, rest assured.
For of what avail is penitence, an ye have no mind to right those
wrongs ye had a hand in? and without penitence, confession is but
mockery."
"Ye say what ye mean not, Master Dick," said Carter, composedly.
"It is ill threatening the dying, and becometh you (to speak truth)
little. And for as little as it commends you, it shall serve you
less. Stay, an ye please. Ye will condemn my soul - ye shall
learn nothing! There is my last word to you." And the wounded man
turned upon the other side.
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