| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Four Arthurian Romances by Chretien DeTroyes: subscribe to it, that this lady surpasses all others who are
alive, just as the south wind which blows in May or April is more
lovely than any other wind. But upon my word, I am not one to
wish to flatter my lady. I will simply say: "The Countess is
worth as many queens as a gem is worth of pearls and sards." Nay
I shall make no comparison, and yet it is true in spite of me; I
will say, however, that her command has more to do with this work
than any thought or pains that I may expend upon it. Here
Chretien begins his book about the Knight of the Cart. The
material and the treatment of it are given and furnished to him
by the Countess, and he is simply trying to carry out her concern
|
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Exiles by Honore de Balzac: "Then suddenly the Shade took flight through the doleful city, and
down to its place at the very bottom of Hell; but as suddenly it came
up again, turned, soared through the endless circles in every
direction, as a vulture, confined for the first time in a cage,
exhausts itself in vain efforts. The Shade was free to do this; he
could wander through the zones of Hell icy, fetid, or scorching
without enduring their pangs; he glided into that vastness as a
sunbeam makes its way into the deepest dark.
" 'God has not condemned him to any torment,' said the Master; 'but
not one of the souls you have seen suffering their various punishments
would exchange his anguish for the hope that is consuming this soul.'
|
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Royalty Restored/London Under Charles II by J. Fitzgerald Molloy: edifice as with one blaze; whilst inside transom beams were
snapped asunder, rafters fell with destruction, and the fire
roaring through chapels and aisles as in a great furnace, could
be heard afar. And that which had been a Christian shrine was
now, a smoking ruin.
Raging onward in their fierce career, the flames darted towards
such buildings in the neighbourhood as had been previously
untouched, so that Paternoster Row, Newgate Street, the Old
Bailey and Ludgate Hill were soon in course of destruction. And
from the latter spot the conflagration, urged by the wind,
rapidly rushed onwards towards Fleet Street. On the other hand,
|
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 Rasselas, Prince of Abyssinia by Samuel Johnson: As they had no knowledge, their talk could take nothing from the
tediousness of life; as they had no choice, their fondness, or
appearance of fondness, excited in him neither pride nor gratitude.
He was not exalted in his own esteem by the smiles of a woman who
saw no other man, nor was much obliged by that regard of which he
could never know the sincerity, and which he might often perceive
to be exerted not so much to delight him as to pain a rival. That
which he gave, and they received, as love, was only a careless
distribution of superfluous time, such love as man can bestow upon
that which he despises, such as has neither hope nor fear, neither
joy nor sorrow."
|
