| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Time Machine by H. G. Wells: a well-known daily paper; and thereupon the Doctor rang the bell.
The Psychologist was the only person besides the Doctor and
myself who had attended the previous dinner. The other men were
Blank, the Editor aforementioned, a certain journalist, and
another--a quiet, shy man with a beard--whom I didn't know,
and who, as far as my observation went, never opened his mouth
all the evening. There was some speculation at the dinner-table
about the Time Traveller's absence, and I suggested time
travelling, in a half-jocular spirit. The Editor wanted that
explained to him, and the Psychologist volunteered a wooden
account of the `ingenious paradox and trick' we had witnessed
The Time Machine |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Mirror of the Sea by Joseph Conrad: art.
As men of scrupulous honour set up a high standard of public
conscience above the dead-level of an honest community, so men of
that skill which passes into art by ceaseless striving raise the
dead-level of correct practice in the crafts of land and sea. The
conditions fostering the growth of that supreme, alive excellence,
as well in work as in play, ought to be preserved with a most
careful regard lest the industry or the game should perish of an
insidious and inward decay. Therefore I have read with profound
regret, in that article upon the yachting season of a certain year,
that the seamanship on board racing yachts is not now what it used
The Mirror of the Sea |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde: ALGERNON. Didn't it go off all right, old boy? You don't mean to
say Gwendolen refused you? I know it is a way she has. She is
always refusing people. I think it is most ill-natured of her.
JACK. Oh, Gwendolen is as right as a trivet. As far as she is
concerned, we are engaged. Her mother is perfectly unbearable.
Never met such a Gorgon . . . I don't really know what a Gorgon is
like, but I am quite sure that Lady Bracknell is one. In any case,
she is a monster, without being a myth, which is rather unfair . .
. I beg your pardon, Algy, I suppose I shouldn't talk about your
own aunt in that way before you.
ALGERNON. My dear boy, I love hearing my relations abused. It is
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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 A Man of Business by Honore de Balzac: " 'Ah! poor devil, and what does he want with me?'
" 'Well, he is at present your creditor for a matter of three thousand
two hundred francs, seventy-five centimes, principal, interest, and
costs--'
" 'Coutelier's business?' put in Maxime, who knew his affairs as a
pilot knows his coast.
" 'Yes, Monsieur le Comte,' said Cerizet with a bow. 'I have come to
ask your intentions.'
" 'I shall only pay when the fancy takes me,' returned Maxime, and he
rang for Suzon. 'It was very rash of Claparon to buy up bills of mine
without speaking to me beforehand. I am sorry for him, for he did so
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