| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Unconscious Comedians by Honore de Balzac: Berlin."
"Yes; you've now seen the heart of the government, cousin, and you
must next be shown the ascarides, the taenia, the intestinal worm,--
the republican, since I must needs name him," said Leon.
When the three friends were once more packed into their hackney-coach,
Gazonal looked at his cousin and Bixiou like a man who had a mind to
launch a flood of oratorical and Southern bile upon the elements.
"I distrusted with all my might this great hussy of a town," he rolled
out in Southern accents; "but since this morning I despise her! The
poor little province you think so petty is an honest girl; but Paris
is a prostitute, a greedy, lying comedian; and I am very thankful not
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Silverado Squatters by Robert Louis Stevenson: shot an arrow. There was the floor, in much the same state
as the one below, though, perhaps, there was more hay, and
certainly there was the added ingredient of broken glass, the
man who stole the window-frames having apparently made a
miscarriage with this one. Without a broom, without hay or
bedding, we could but look about us with a beginning of
despair. The one bright arrow of day, in that gaunt and
shattered barrack, made the rest look dirtier and darker, and
the sight drove us at last into the open.
Here, also, the handiwork of man lay ruined: but the plants
were all alive and thriving; the view below was fresh with
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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 Captain Stormfield by Mark Twain: Next, I had a collision with a Bishop - and bowled him down, of
course. We had some sharp words, and I felt pretty cheap, to come
banging into a grave old person like that, with a million strangers
looking on and smiling to themselves.
I saw I hadn't got the hang of the steering, and so couldn't
rightly tell where I was going to bring up when I started. I went
afoot the rest of the day, and let my wings hang. Early next
morning I went to a private place to have some practice. I got up
on a pretty high rock, and got a good start, and went swooping
down, aiming for a bush a little over three hundred yards off; but
I couldn't seem to calculate for the wind, which was about two
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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 The Kreutzer Sonata by Leo Tolstoy: considered the worst man in the village; but when it comes to
business of importance, who is selected then? Why, Polikushka,
of course."
"What kind of business?" Akulina timidly inquired.
But Polikey was in no hurry to answer her question. He lighted
his pipe with a very imposing air, and spit several times on the
floor before he replied.
Still retaining his pompous manner, he said, "She has ordered me
to go to a certain merchant in the town and collect a
considerable sum of money."
"You to collect money?" questioned Akulina.
The Kreutzer Sonata |
