| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from A Personal Record by Joseph Conrad: tomb by Michael Angelo, though, of course, he was far, far from
being beautiful. He began by trying to make me talk nonsense.
But I had been warned of that fiendish trait, and contradicted
him with great assurance. After a while he left off. So far
good. But his immobility, the thick elbow on the table, the
abrupt, unhappy voice, the shaded and averted face grew more and
more impressive. He kept inscrutably silent for a moment, and
then, placing me in a ship of a certain size, at sea, under
conditions of weather, season, locality, etc.--all very clear and
precise--ordered me to execute a certain manoeuvre. Before I was
half through with it he did some material damage to the ship.
A Personal Record |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Expression of Emotion in Man and Animals by Charles Darwin: of raising his right arm slowly in front of his face, up to his forehead,
and then dropping it with a jerk, so that the wrist fell heavily
on the bridge of his nose. The trick did not occur every night,
but occasionally, and was independent of any ascertained cause.
Sometimes it was repeated incessantly for an hour or more.
The gentleman's nose was prominent, and its bridge often became
sore from the blows which it received. At one time an awkward sore
was produced, that was long in healing, on account of the recurrence,
night after night, of the blows which first caused it.
His wife had to remove the button from the wrist of his night-gown
as it made severe scratches, and some means were attempted
Expression of Emotion in Man and Animals |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Gorgias by Plato: the body, and ought to be the mistress of all the rest, and to use their
results according to the knowledge which she has and they have not, of the
real good or bad effects of meats and drinks on the body. All other arts
which have to do with the body are servile and menial and illiberal; and
gymnastic and medicine are, as they ought to be, their mistresses. Now,
when I say that all this is equally true of the soul, you seem at first to
know and understand and assent to my words, and then a little while
afterwards you come repeating, Has not the State had good and noble
citizens? and when I ask you who they are, you reply, seemingly quite in
earnest, as if I had asked, Who are or have been good trainers?--and you
had replied, Thearion, the baker, Mithoecus, who wrote the Sicilian
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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 Deputy of Arcis by Honore de Balzac: you can manage to collect fifty ministerial votes you will find
yourself master of the coming election," he added, addressing the sub-
prefect.
"It will do if you produce a candidate of the same calibre as Simon
Giguet," said Olivier Vinet.
The sub-prefect allowed an expression of satisfaction to appear upon
his features, which did not escape the notice of his three companions,
with whom, moreover, he had a full understanding. All four being
bachelors, and tolerably rich, they had formed, without premeditation,
an alliance against the dulness of the provinces. The three
functionaries had already remarked the sort of jealousy that Goulard
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