| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Travels of Sir John Mandeville by Sir John Mandeville: little Armenia be good Christian men and devout. For they shrive
them and housel them evermore once or twice in the week. And there
be many of them that housel them every day; and so do we not on
this half, albeit that Saint Paul commandeth it, saying, OMNIBUS
DIEBUS DOMINICIS AD COMMUNICANDUM HORTOR. They keep that
commandment, but we ne keep it not.
Also after, on this half, is Turkey, that marcheth to the great
Armenia. And there be many provinces, as Cappadocia, Saure,
Brique, Quesiton, Pytan, and Gemethe. And in everych of these be
many good cities. This Turkey stretcheth unto the city of Sachala
that sitteth upon the sea of Greece, and so it marcheth to Syria.
|
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Lone Star Ranger by Zane Grey: Is that. a fact, or only my impression?"
"It's a sure fact," replied Laramie, darkly. "Men have lost
cattle an' property in Fairdale--lost them honestly or
otherwise, as hasn't been proved. An' in some cases when they
talked--hinted a little--they was found dead. Apparently held
up an robbed. But dead. Dead men don't talk! Thet's why we're
close mouthed."
Duane felt a dark, somber sternness. Rustling cattle was not
intolerable. Western Texas had gone on prospering, growing in
spite of the hordes of rustlers ranging its vast stretches; but
a cold, secret, murderous hold on a little struggling community
The Lone Star Ranger |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions by Edwin A. Abbot: occupied every entrance with an impenetrable phalanx.
The battle, or rather carnage, was of short duration.
Under the skillful generalship of the Circles almost every Woman's
charge was fatal and very many extracted their sting uninjured,
ready for a second slaughter. But no second blow was needed;
the rabble of the Isosceles did the rest of the business
for themselves. Surprised, leader-less, attacked in front
by invisible foes, and finding egress cut off by the Convicts
behind them, they at once -- after their manner -- lost all presence
of mind, and raised the cry of "treachery". This sealed their fate.
Every Isosceles now saw and felt a foe in every other.
Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions |
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 Roads of Destiny by O. Henry: if you take his horse, you take a thing the loss of which renders him
poor, indeed, and which enriches you not--if you are caught. For the
Kid there was no turning back now.
With the springing roan under him he felt little care or uneasiness.
After a five-mile gallop he drew it in to the plainsman's jogging
trot, and rode northeastward toward the Nueces River bottoms. He knew
the country well--its most tortuous and obscure trails through the
great wilderness of brush and pear, and its camps and lonesome ranches
where one might find safe entertainment. Always he bore to the east;
for the Kid had never seen the ocean, and he had a fancy to lay his
hand upon the mane of the great Gulf, the gamesome colt of the greater
|
