| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Duchesse de Langeais by Honore de Balzac: Duchess stirred up his wrath by suddenly setting him down a
thousand miles away from the boudoir, discussing theories of
absolute monarchy, which she defended to admiration. Few women
venture to be democrats; the attitude of democratic champion is
scarcely compatible with tyrannous feminine sway. But often, on
the other hand, the General shook out his mane, dropped politics
with a leonine growling and lashing of the flanks, and sprang
upon his prey; he was no longer capable of carrying a heart and
brain at such variance for very far; he came back, terrible with
love, to his mistress. And she, if she felt the prick of fancy
stimulated to a dangerous point, knew that it was time to leave
|
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Songs of Travel by Robert Louis Stevenson: Like frightened demons: with despair
Competing branches pushed for air.
Green conquerors from overhead
Bestrode the bodies of their dead:
The Caesars of the sylvan field,
Unused to fail, foredoomed to yield:
For in the groins of branches, lo!
The cancers of the orchid grow.
Silent as in the listed ring
Two chartered wrestlers strain and cling;
Dumb as by yellow Hooghly's side
|
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Westward Ho! by Charles Kingsley: the day of judgment. There are bogs in the bottom twenty feet
deep. Plague on the fellow, whoever he is, he has dodged us! Look
there!"
It was too true. The unknown horseman had evidently dismounted
below, and led his horse up on the other side of a long furze-dike;
till coming to the point where it turned away again from his
intended course, he appeared against the sky, in the act of leading
his nag over a gap.
"Ride like the wind!" and both youths galloped across furze and
heather at him; but ere they were within a hundred yards of him, he
had leapt again on his horse, and was away far ahead.
|
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 A Voyage to Abyssinia by Father Lobo: cow was brought and sacrificed immediately, and some pieces of flesh
were thrown into these holes. Animated now with assurance of
success, they lose no time: every one redoubles his endeavours, and
the heat, though intolerable, was less powerful than the hopes they
had conceived. At length some, not so patient as the rest, were
weary, and desisted. The work now grew more difficult; they found
nothing but rock, yet continued to toil on, till the prince, having
lost all temper, began to inquire with some passion when he should
have a sight of this treasure, and after having been some time
amused with many promises by the monks, was told that he had not
faith enough to be favoured with the discovery.
|
