| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from A Simple Soul by Gustave Flaubert: first time it was a box of shells; the second, a coffee-cup; the
third, a big doll of ginger-bread. He was growing handsome, had a good
figure, a tiny moustache, kind eyes, and a little leather cap that sat
jauntily on the back of his head. He amused his aunt by telling her
stories mingled with nautical expressions.
One Monday, the 14th of July, 1819 (she never forgot the date), Victor
announced that he had been engaged on a merchant-vessel and that in
two days he would take the steamer at Honfleur and join his sailer,
which was going to start from Havre very soon. Perhaps he might be
away two years.
The prospect of his departure filled Felicite with despair, and in
A Simple Soul |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from A Straight Deal by Owen Wister: our future advantage. To this he answered, in part, as follows:
"I wish to thank you for your kindly reply.... Your argument is that as a
matter of policy we should conciliate Great Britain. Have we fallen so
low, this great and powerful nation?... Truckling to some other power
because its backing, moral or physical, may some day be of use to us,
even tho' we know that in so doing we are surrendering our dearest
rights, principles, and dignity!... Oh! my dear Sir, you surely do not
advocate this? I inclose an editorial clipping.... Is it no shock to you
when Winston Churchill shouts to High Heaven that under no circumstances
will Great Britain surrender its supreme control of the seas? This in
reply to President Wilson's plea for freedom of the seas and curtailment
|
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from The Firm of Nucingen by Honore de Balzac: everybody longs to have money without working for it; you may hedge
the desire about with restrictions, but the gambling mania immediately
breaks out in another form. You stupidly suppress lotteries, but the
cook-maid pilfers none the less, and puts her ill-gotten gains in the
savings bank. She gambles with two hundred and fifty franc stakes
instead of forty sous; joint-stock companies and speculation take the
place of the lottery; the gambling goes on without the green cloth,
the croupier's rake is invisible, the cheating planned beforehand. The
gambling houses are closed, the lottery has come to an end; 'and now,'
cry idiots, 'morals have greatly improved in France,' as if, forsooth,
they had suppressed the punters. The gambling still goes on, only the
|
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 McTeague by Frank Norris: the ceiling, lost in thought.
Since he had spoken to Trina Sieppe, asking her so abruptly
to marry him, McTeague had passed a week of torment. For
him there was no going back. It was Trina now, and none
other. It was all one with him that his best friend,
Marcus, might be in love with the same girl. He must have
Trina in spite of everything; he would have her even in
spite of herself. He did not stop to reflect about the
matter; he followed his desire blindly, recklessly, furious
and raging at every obstacle. And she had cried "No, no!"
back at him; he could not forget that. She, so small and
McTeague |
