| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from A Daughter of Eve by Honore de Balzac: women gave strange meanings. She often returned home uneasy, excited,
curious, and thoughtful. She began to find something less, she hardly
knew what, in her life; but she did not yet go so far as to think it
lonely.
CHAPTER IV
A CELEBRATED MAN
The most amusing society, but also the most mixed, which Madame Felix
de Vandenesse frequented, was that of the Comtesse de Montcornet, a
charming little woman, who received illustrious artists, leading
financial personages, distinguished writers; but only after subjecting
them to so rigid an examination that the most exclusive aristocrat had
|
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Black Tulip by Alexandre Dumas: gratitude. God will reward you for having saved the lives of
two men."
Rosa took the hand which John de Witt proffered to her, and
kissed it with every show of respect.
"Go! for Heaven's sake, go!" she said; "it seems they are
going to force the gate."
John de Witt hastily got in, sat himself down by the side of
his brother, and, fastening the apron of the carriage,
called out to the coachman, --
"To the Tol-Hek!"
The Tol-Hek was the iron gate leading to the harbor of
The Black Tulip |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Glinda of Oz by L. Frank Baum: "I don't blame you for thinking that," he said. "Once
the Flatheads had no brains because, as you say, there
is no upper part to their heads, to hold brains. But
long, long ago a band of fairies flew over this country
and made it all a fairyland, and when they came to the
Flatheads the fairies were sorry to find them all very
stupid and quite unable to think. So, as there was no
good place in their bodies in which to put brains the
Fairy Queen gave each one of us a nice can of brains to
carry in his pocket and that made us just as
intelligent as other people. See," he continued, "here
Glinda of Oz |
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 Songs of Innocence and Experience by William Blake: Must be consumed with the earth,
To rise from generation free:
Then what have I to do with thee?
The sexes sprung from shame and pride,
Blowed in the morn, in evening died;
But mercy changed death into sleep;
The sexes rose to work and weep.
Thou, mother of my mortal part,
With cruelty didst mould my heart,
And with false self-deceiving tears
Didst blind my nostrils, eyes, and ears,
Songs of Innocence and Experience |
