| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Baby Mine by Margaret Mayo: room with a new sense of alarm.
Alfred did not answer.
"Aggie!" shrieked the over-wrought young wife.
Alfred attempted to reassure her. "Now, now, dear, don't get
nervous," he said, "I am only taking the necessary precautions."
And again he turned to the 'phone.
Alarmed by Zoie's summons, Aggie entered the room hastily. She
was not reassured upon hearing Alfred's further conversation at
the 'phone.
"Is this the Fullerton Street Police Station?" asked Alfred.
"The Police!" echoed Aggie, and her eyes sought Zoie's
|
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Golden Sayings of Epictetus by Epictetus: and honest, and of such only?
LXXXIII
No man can rob us of our Will--no man can lord it over that!
LXXXIV
When disease and death overtake me, I would fain be found
engaged in the task of liberating mine oew Will from the assaults
of passion, from hindrance, from resentment, from slavery.
Thus would I fain to be found employed, so that I may say to
God, "Have I in aught transgressed Thy commands? Have I in aught
perverted the faculties, the senses, the natural principles that
Thou didst give me? Have I ever blamed Thee or found fault with
The Golden Sayings of Epictetus |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from The Mirror of the Sea by Joseph Conrad: XXXI.
The Nore sand remains covered at low-water, and never seen by human
eye; but the Nore is a name to conjure with visions of historical
events, of battles, of fleets, of mutinies, of watch and ward kept
upon the great throbbing heart of the State. This ideal point of
the estuary, this centre of memories, is marked upon the steely
gray expanse of the waters by a lightship painted red that, from a
couple of miles off, looks like a cheap and bizarre little toy. I
remember how, on coming up the river for the first time, I was
surprised at the smallness of that vivid object - a tiny warm speck
of crimson lost in an immensity of gray tones. I was startled, as
The Mirror of the Sea |
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 Talisman by Walter Scott: Eastern history, had learned, to his fatal experience, that his
light-armed followers were little able to meet in close encounter
with the iron-clad Franks, and had been taught, at the same time,
to apprehend and dread the adventurous character of his
antagonist Richard. But if his armies were more than once routed
with great slaughter, his numbers gave the Saracen the advantage
in those lighter skirmishes, of which many were inevitable.
As the army of his assailants decreased, the enterprises of the
Sultan became more numerous and more bold in this species of
petty warfare. The camp of the Crusaders was surrounded, and
almost besieged, by clouds of light cavalry, resembling swarms of
|
