| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from La Grande Breteche by Honore de Balzac: for Duvivier. The jeweler arrived just as the disorder in the room had
been repaired.
" 'Duvivier,' asked Monsieur de Merret, 'did not you buy some
crucifixes of the Spaniards who passed through the town?'
" 'No, monsieur.'
" 'Very good; thank you,' said he, flashing a tiger's glare at his
wife. 'Jean,' he added, turning to his confidential valet, 'you can
serve my meals here in Madame de Merret's room. She is ill, and I
shall not leave her till she recovers.'
"The cruel man remained in his wife's room for twenty days. During the
earlier time, when there was some little noise in the closet, and
 La Grande Breteche |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Within the Tides by Joseph Conrad: afternoons, in his white drill suit and planter's hat, which seemed
to her an unduly Bohemian costume for calling in a house where
there were ladies. But in the evening, lithe and elegant in his
dress clothes and with his pleasant, slightly veiled voice, he
always made her conquest afresh. He might have been anybody
distinguished - the son of a duke. Falling under that charm
probably (and also because her brother had given her a hint), she
attempted to open her heart to Renouard, who was watching with all
the power of his soul her niece across the table. She spoke to him
as frankly as though that miserable mortal envelope, emptied of
everything but hopeless passion, were indeed the son of a duke.
 Within the Tides |