| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from King Lear by William Shakespeare: A saucy roughness, and constrains the garb
Quite from his nature. He cannot flatter, he!
An honest mind and plain- he must speak truth!
An they will take it, so; if not, he's plain.
These kind of knaves I know which in this plainness
Harbour more craft and more corrupter ends
Than twenty silly-ducking observants
That stretch their duties nicely.
Kent. Sir, in good faith, in sincere verity,
Under th' allowance of your great aspect,
Whose influence, like the wreath of radiant fire
King Lear |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Gift of the Magi by O. Henry: all who give gifts these two were the wisest. O all who give
and receive gifts, such as they are wisest. Everywhere they
are wisest. They are the magi.
End of this Project Gutenberg Etext of THE GIFT OF THE MAGI.
The Gift of the Magi |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Options by O. Henry: imposed on,' says he.
"'Maybe so,' says I, 'but it sounded pretty straight to me.'
"'W. D.,' says the King, all of a sudden, 'I'll give you a square
deal. It ain't often I get to talk to a white man, and I'll give you
a show for your money. It may be these constituents of mine have a
few grains of gold-dust hid away in their clothes. To-morrow you may
get out these goods you've brought up and see if you can make any
sales. Now, I'm going to introduce myself unofficially. My name is
Shane--Patrick Shane. I own this tribe of Peche Indians by right of
conquest--single handed and unafraid. I drifted up here four years
ago, and won 'em by my size and complexion and nerve. I learned their
Options |
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 Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe: keep them from doing the mischief they designed; for all agreed,
governor and all, that means were to be used for preserving the
society from danger. After a long debate, it was agreed that they
should be disarmed, and not permitted to have either gun, powder,
shot, sword, or any weapon; that they should be turned out of the
society, and left to live where they would and how they would, by
themselves; but that none of the rest, either Spaniards or English,
should hold any kind of converse with them, or have anything to do
with them; that they should be forbid to come within a certain
distance of the place where the rest dwelt; and if they offered to
commit any disorder, so as to spoil, burn, kill, or destroy any of
Robinson Crusoe |
