| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Tragedy of Pudd'nhead Wilson by Mark Twain: Tom--bliss that was troubled a little at times, it is true,
but bliss nevertheless; then she died, and her husband and his
childless sister, Mrs. Pratt, continued this bliss-business at the
old stand. Tom was petted and indulged and spoiled to his entire
content--or nearly that. This went on till he was nineteen,
then he was sent to Yale. He went handsomely equipped with "conditions,"
but otherwise he was not an object of distinction there.
He remained at Yale two years, and then threw up the struggle.
He came home with his manners a good deal improved; he had lost his
surliness and brusqueness, and was rather pleasantly soft and smooth, now;
he was furtively, and sometimes openly, ironical of speech, and given
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Muse of the Department by Honore de Balzac: "I grant it," said the journalist, "but not with malicious intent. You
cannot suppress historical fact. In my opinion, Pilate, when he
sentenced Jesus, and Anytus--who spoke for the aristocratic party at
Athens--when he insisted on the death of Socrates, both represented
established social interests which held themselves legitimate,
invested with co-operative powers, and obliged to defend themselves.
Pilate and Anytus in their time were not less logical than the public
prosecutors who demanded the heads of the sergeants of La Rochelle;
who, at this day, are guillotining the republicans who take up arms
against the throne as established by the revolution of July, and the
innovators who aim at upsetting society for their own advantage under
The Muse of the Department |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood by Howard Pyle: "Alas!" cried the Miller, "what would ye do to me?
I have not about me so much as a clipped groat.
Do me no harm, I pray you, but let me depart in peace.
Moreover, let me tell you that ye are upon Robin Hood's ground,
and should he find you seeking to rob an honest craftsman,
he will clip your ears to your heads and scourge you even
to the walls of Nottingham.
"In truth I fear Robin Hood no more than I do myself,"
quoth jolly Robin. "Thou must this day give up to me every
penny thou hast about thee. Nay, if thou dost budge an inch
I will rattle this staff about thine ears."
The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood |
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 A Second Home by Honore de Balzac: whether she would have the pleasure of seeing Monsieur le Comte before
he went out.
"He is gone," was always the rely, though often his carriage was still
waiting.
This little dialogue by proxy became a daily ceremonial. Granville's
servant, a favorite with his master, and the cause of more than one
quarrel over his irreligious and dissipated conduct, would even go
into his master's room, as a matter of form, when the Count was not
there, and come back with the same formula in reply.
The aggrieved wife was always on the watch for her husband's return,
and standing on the steps so as to meet him like an embodiment of
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