| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Battle of the Books by Jonathan Swift: and, though I would by no means lesson or disparage your genuine
stock of either, yet I doubt you are somewhat obliged, for an
increase of both, to a little foreign assistance. Your inherent
portion of dirt does not fall of acquisitions, by sweepings exhaled
from below; and one insect furnishes you with a share of poison to
destroy another. So that, in short, the question comes all to
this: whether is the nobler being of the two, that which, by a
lazy contemplation of four inches round, by an overweening pride,
feeding, and engendering on itself, turns all into excrement and
venom, producing nothing at all but flybane and a cobweb; or that
which, by a universal range, with long search, much study, true
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Records of a Family of Engineers by Robert Louis Stevenson: landed at nine, and after a good tide's work of three hours
with torchlight, the work was left off at midnight. To the
distant shipping the appearance of things under night on the
Bell Rock, when the work was going forward, must have been
very remarkable, especially to those who were strangers to the
operations. Mr. John Reid, principal lightkeeper, who also
acted as master of the floating light during the working
months at the rock, described the appearance of numerous
lights situated so low in the water, when seen at the distance
of two or three miles, as putting him in mind of Milton's
description of the fiends in the lower regions, adding, `for
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| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from When a Man Marries by Mary Roberts Rinehart: in the tea kettle and then went to look at the furnace. And
Officer Timothy Flannigan ground the coffee and gave his opinion
of the board of health in no stinted terms. As for me, I burned
my fingers and the toast, and felt myself growing hot and cold,
for I was going to be found out as soon as Flannigan grasped the
situation.
Then, of course, I did the thing that caused me so much trouble
later. I put down the toaster--at least the Harbison man said it
was a toaster--and went over and stood in front of the policeman.
"I don't suppose you will understand--exactly," I said, "but--but
if anything occurs to--to make you think I am not--that things
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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 Madam How and Lady Why by Charles Kingsley: generally one which went much higher than the rest, and pierced
upwards towards the moon, who looked calmly down, mocking such
vain attempts to reach her." The large stones, of course, did not
rise so high; and some, he says, "only just appeared over the rim
of the cone, above which they came floating leisurely up, to show
their brilliant forms and intense white light for an instant, and
then subside again."
Try and picture that to yourselves, remembering that this was only
a little side eruption, of no more importance to the whole
mountain than the fall of a slate off the roof is of importance to
the whole house. And then think how mean and weak man's
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