| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Kreutzer Sonata by Leo Tolstoy: no love, one cannot be obliged to love in spite of herself."
"And if the wife deceives her husband, what is to be done?" said
the lawyer.
"That should not happen," said the old man. "He must have his
eyes about him."
"And if it does happen, all the same? You will admit that it
does happen?"
"It happens among the upper classes, not among us," answered the
old man. "And if any husband is found who is such a fool as not
to rule his wife, he will not have robbed her. But no scandal,
nevertheless. Love or not, but do not disturb the household.
The Kreutzer Sonata |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Laches by Plato: prospect of our family ties being renewed.
LACHES: Indeed, Lysimachus, you ought not to give him up; for I can assure
you that I have seen him maintaining, not only his father's, but also his
country's name. He was my companion in the retreat from Delium, and I can
tell you that if others had only been like him, the honour of our country
would have been upheld, and the great defeat would never have occurred.
LYSIMACHUS: That is very high praise which is accorded to you, Socrates,
by faithful witnesses and for actions like those which they praise. Let me
tell you the pleasure which I feel in hearing of your fame; and I hope that
you will regard me as one of your warmest friends. You ought to have
visited us long ago, and made yourself at home with us; but now, from this
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| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Domestic Peace by Honore de Balzac: plaintive stranger to the light. Does it not strike you that she looks
like an elegy?"
"Do you think so, Montcornet? Then she must be a married woman?"
"Why not a widow?"
"She would be less passive," said the lawyer, laughing.
"She is perhaps the widow of a man who is gambling," replied the
handsome Colonel.
"To be sure; since the peace there are so many widows of that class!"
said Martial. "But my dear Montcornet, we are a couple of simpletons.
That face is still too ingenuous, there is too much youth and
freshness on the brow and temples for her to be married. What splendid
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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 Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne: the dark gulf.
I dropped as it were, frantically clutching the double cord with one
hand and buttressing myself from the wall with the other by means of
my stick. One idea overpowered me almost, fear lest the rock should
give way from which I was hanging. This cord seemed a fragile thing
for three persons to be suspended from. I made as little use of it as
possible, performing wonderful feats of equilibrium upon the lava
projections which my foot seemed to catch hold of like a hand.
When one of these slippery steps shook under the heavier form of
Hans, he said in his tranquil voice:
"_Gif akt!_ "
Journey to the Center of the Earth |
