| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Beyond Good and Evil by Friedrich Nietzsche: it belongs: he will test it by its INSTINCT FOR REVERENCE.
DIFFERENCE ENGENDRE HAINE: the vulgarity of many a nature spurts
up suddenly like dirty water, when any holy vessel, any jewel
from closed shrines, any book bearing the marks of great destiny,
is brought before it; while on the other hand, there is an
involuntary silence, a hesitation of the eye, a cessation of all
gestures, by which it is indicated that a soul FEELS the nearness
of what is worthiest of respect. The way in which, on the whole,
the reverence for the BIBLE has hitherto been maintained in
Europe, is perhaps the best example of discipline and refinement
of manners which Europe owes to Christianity: books of such
Beyond Good and Evil |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain: herdson. They was as high-toned and well born and
rich and grand as the tribe of Grangerfords. The
Shepherdsons and Grangerfords used the same steam-
boat landing, which was about two mile above our
house; so sometimes when I went up there with a lot
of our folks I used to see a lot of the Shepherdsons
there on their fine horses.
One day Buck and me was away out in the woods
hunting, and heard a horse coming. We was crossing
the road. Buck says:
"Quick! Jump for the woods!"
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell: labored to inculcate in her the qualities that would make her
truly desirable as a wife.
"You must be more gentle, dear, more sedate," Ellen told her
daughter. "You must not interrupt gentlemen when they are
speaking, even if you do think you know more about matters than
they do. Gentlemen do not like forward girls."
"Young misses whut frowns an pushes out dey chins an' says 'Ah
will' and 'Ah woan' mos' gener'ly doan ketch husbands," prophesied
Mammy gloomily. "Young misses should cas' down dey eyes an' say,
'Well, suh, Ah mout' an' 'Jes' as you say, suh.'"
Between them, they taught her all that a gentlewoman should know,
Gone With the Wind |
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 Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell: romance about nursing, that had worn off a year ago. Besides,
these men wounded in the retreat were not so attractive as the
earlier ones had been. They didn't show the slightest interest in
her and they had very little to say beyond: "How's the fightin'
goin'? What's Old Joe doin' now? Mighty clever fellow, Old Joe."
She didn't think Old Joe a mighty clever fellow. All he had done
was let the Yankees penetrate eighty-eight miles into Georgia. No,
they were not an attractive lot. Moreover, many of them were
dying, dying swiftly, silently, having little strength left to
combat the blood poisoning, gangrene, typhoid and pneumonia which
had set in before they could reach Atlanta and a doctor.
Gone With the Wind |
