| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Arizona Nights by Stewart Edward White: winner."
That looked good to me, so we started in on that idee. The
theery was bully, but she didn't work out. The first broods we
hatched growed up with big husky Cochin Chiny bodies and little
short necks, perched up on laigs three foot long. Them chickens
couldn't reach ground nohow. We had to build a table for 'em to
eat off, and when they went out rustlin' for themselves they had
to confine themselves to sidehills or flyin' insects. Their
breasts was all right, though--"And think of them drumsticks for
the boardinghouse trade!" says Tusky.
|
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Theaetetus by Plato: Protagoras be preferred to the place of wisdom and instruction, and deserve
to be well paid, and we poor ignoramuses have to go to him, if each one is
the measure of his own wisdom? Must he not be talking 'ad captandum' in
all this? I say nothing of the ridiculous predicament in which my own
midwifery and the whole art of dialectic is placed; for the attempt to
supervise or refute the notions or opinions of others would be a tedious
and enormous piece of folly, if to each man his own are right; and this
must be the case if Protagoras' Truth is the real truth, and the
philosopher is not merely amusing himself by giving oracles out of the
shrine of his book.
THEODORUS: He was a friend of mine, Socrates, as you were saying, and
|
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from The Beasts of Tarzan by Edgar Rice Burroughs: intended doing should the opportunity present itself; but the
moment they had seen Tarzan their blood had turned to water,
as the porters of the white men had told them would be the case.
Finding the ape-man made no attempt to harm him, the native
at last recovered his grasp upon his courage, and, at Tarzan's
suggestion, accompanied the white devil back to the village,
calling as he went for his fellows to return also, as "the
white devil has promised to do you no harm if you come back
right away and answer his questions."
One by one the blacks straggled into the village, but that
their fears were not entirely allayed was evident from the
The Beasts of Tarzan |
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 Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy: completely forgotten the impression it had made on him in old
days. But as soon as, driving into the wide semicircular court
and getting out of the sledge, he mounted the steps, and the
hall-porter, adorned with a crossway scarf, noiselessly opened
the door to him with a bow; as soon as he saw in the porter's
room the cloaks and galoshes of members who thought it less
trouble to take them off downstairs; as soon as he heard the
mysterious ringing bell that preceded him as he ascended the
easy, carpeted staircase, and saw the statue on the landing, and
the third porter at the top doors, a familiar figure grown older,
in the club livery, opening the door without haste or delay, and
Anna Karenina |
