| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Herodias by Gustave Flaubert: married to one of his brothers, who lived in Italy but who had no
pretensions to power.
Antipas was waiting for assistance and reinforcements from the Romans,
but as Vitellius, the Governor of Syria, had not yet arrived, he was
consumed with impatience and anxiety. Perhaps Agrippa had ruined his
cause with the Emperor, he thought. Philip, his third brother,
sovereign of Batania, was arming himself clandestinely. The Jews were
becoming intolerant of the tetrarch's idolatries; he knew that many
were weary of his rule; and he hesitated now between adopting one of
two projects: to conciliate the Arabs and win back their allegiance,
or to conclude an alliance with the Parthians. Under the pretext of
Herodias |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne: If we recognised so many different varieties of fish, it was because,
attracted by the electric light, they tried to follow us;
the greater part, however, were soon distanced by our speed,
though some kept their place in the waters of the Nautilus for a time.
The morning of the 24th, in 12@ 5' S. lat., and 94@ 33'
long., we observed Keeling Island, a coral formation,
planted with magnificent cocos, and which had been visited by
Mr. Darwin and Captain Fitzroy. The Nautilus skirted the shores
of this desert island for a little distance. Its nets brought
up numerous specimens of polypi and curious shells of mollusca.
{one sentence stripped here}
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Seraphita by Honore de Balzac: save those that amuse you. Come, what shall I do for you, friend?
Shall I sing, shall I dance, though weariness deprives me of the use
of voice and limbs?--Ah! gentlemen, be we on our deathbeds, we yet
must smile to please you; you call that, methinks, your right. Poor
women! I pity them. Tell me, you who abandon them when they grow old,
is it because they have neither hearts nor souls? Wilfrid, I am a
hundred years old; leave me! leave me! go to Minna!"
"Oh, my eternal love!"
"Do you know the meaning of eternity? Be silent, Wilfrid. You desire
me, but you do not love me. Tell me, do I not seem to you like those
coquettish Parisian women?"
Seraphita |
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 Country of the Pointed Firs by Sarah Orne Jewett: camp with a fragrance of wet ferns. Mrs. Todd alighted once or
twice, refusing all assistance in securing some boughs of a rare
shrub which she valued for its bark, though she proved
incommunicative as to her reasons. We passed the house where we
had been so kindly entertained with doughnuts earlier in the day,
and found it closed and deserted, which was a disappointment.
"They must have stopped to tea somewheres and thought they'd
finish up the day," said Mrs. Todd. "Those that enjoyed it best'll
want to get right home so's to think it over."
"I didn't see the woman there after all, did you?" asked Mrs.
Blackett as the horse stopped to drink at the trough.
|
