| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Tales and Fantasies by Robert Louis Stevenson: be there - Alan locked in drunken slumbers, forgetful of the
return of day, of the holy season, and of the friend whom he
had so coldly received and was now so churlishly neglecting.
John's disgust redoubled at the thought, but hunger was
beginning to grow stronger than repulsion, and as a step to
breakfast, if nothing else, he must find and arouse this
sleeper.
He made the circuit of the bedroom quarters. All, until he
came to Alan's chamber, were locked from without, and bore
the marks of a prolonged disuse. But Alan's was a room in
commission, filled with clothes, knickknacks, letters, books,
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Of The Nature of Things by Lucretius: And use the senses. Verily, as the eye,
Alone, up-rended from its roots, apart
From all the body, can peer about at naught,
So soul and mind it seems are nothing able,
When by themselves. No marvel, because, commixed
Through veins and inwards, and through bones and thews,
Their elements primordial are confined
By all the body, and own no power free
To bound around through interspaces big,
Thus, shut within these confines, they take on
Motions of sense, which, after death, thrown out
Of The Nature of Things |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Catherine de Medici by Honore de Balzac: occurred. Go, Pardaillan.--As for you, Lewiston, keep guard over that
traitor of a Reformer," she said to the Scotchman in his mother-
tongue, pointing to Christophe.
The young queen and queen-mother maintained a total silence until the
arrival of the king and princes. The moments that elapsed were
terrible.
Mary Stuart had betrayed to her mother-in-law, in its fullest extent,
the part her uncles were inducing her to play; her constant and
habitual distrust and espionage were now revealed, and her young
conscience told her how dishonoring to a great queen was the work that
she was doing. Catherine, on the other hand, had yielded out of fear;
|
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 Albert Savarus by Honore de Balzac: descended till it reached the hips.
Within ten years England has made two little gifts to our language.
The /Incroyable/, the /Merveilleux/, the /Elegant/, the three
successes of the /petit-maitre/ of discreditable etymology, have made
way for the "dandy" and the "lion." The /lion/ is not the parent of
the /lionne/. The /lionne/ is due to the famous song by Alfred de
Musset:
Avez vou vu dans Barcelone
. . . . . .
C'est ma maitresse et ma lionne.
There has been a fusion--or, if you prefer it, a confusion--of the two
Albert Savarus |
