| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from A Modest Proposal by Jonathan Swift: may flea the carcass; the skin of which, artificially dressed,
will make admirable gloves for ladies, and summer boots for fine
gentlemen.
As to our City of Dublin, shambles may be appointed for this
purpose, in the most convenient parts of it, and butchers we may
be assured will not be wanting; although I rather recommend
buying the children alive, and dressing them hot from the knife,
as we do roasting pigs.
A very worthy person, a true lover of his country, and whose
virtues I highly esteem, was lately pleased, in discoursing on
this matter, to offer a refinement upon my scheme. He said, that
A Modest Proposal |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Arrow of Gold by Joseph Conrad: I saw shepherding two girls into this house?"
She put on a candid air in which one could detect a little of her
peasant cunning.
"Oh, yes. They are two dancing girls at the Opera, sisters, as
different from each other as I and our poor Rita. But they are
both virtuous and that gentleman, their father, is very severe with
them. Very severe indeed, poor motherless things. And it seems to
be such a sinful occupation."
"I bet you make them pay a big rent, Therese. With an occupation
like that . . ."
She looked at me with eyes of invincible innocence and began to
The Arrow of Gold |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe: me joy or grief to any great degree." - "Yes, yes," said the old
man, in broken English, "make you glad, me sorry." - "Why," said I,
"will it make you sorry?" - "Because," said he, "you have brought
me here twenty-five days' journey, and will leave me to go back
alone; and which way shall I get to my port afterwards, without a
ship, without a horse, without PECUNE?" so he called money, being
his broken Latin, of which he had abundance to make us merry with.
In short, he told us there was a great caravan of Muscovite and
Polish merchants in the city, preparing to set out on their journey
by land to Muscovy, within four or five weeks; and he was sure we
would take the opportunity to go with them, and leave him behind,
Robinson Crusoe |
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 American Notes by Rudyard Kipling: entered into a new world where, in conversation, every one was
either a Mormon or a Gentile. It is not seemly for a free and
independent citizen to dub himself a Gentile, but the Mayor of
Ogden--which is the Gentile city of the valley--told me that
there must be some distinction between the two flocks.
Long before the fruit orchards of Logan or the shining levels of
the Salt Lake had been reached, that mayor--himself a Gentile,
and one renowned for his dealings with the Mormons--told me that
the great question of the existence of the power within the power
was being gradually solved by the ballot and by education.
All the beauty of the valley could not make me forget it. And
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