| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Essays of Francis Bacon by Francis Bacon: For justs, and tourneys, and barriers; the glories
of them are chiefly in the chariots, wherein the
challengers make their entry; especially if they
be drawn with strange beasts: as lions, bears,
camels, and the like; or in the devices of their en-
trance; or in the bravery of their liveries; or in the
goodly furniture of their horses and armor. But
enough of these toys.
Of Nature
IN MEN
NATURE is often hidden; sometimes over-
Essays of Francis Bacon |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Ursula by Honore de Balzac: "Well," said the abbe to Madame de Portenduere in his most insinuating
voice, "I shall go and tell the doctor of your visit, and you will
come--"
The old mother did not yield till after an hour's discussion, during
which the abbe was forced to repeat his arguments at least ten times.
And even then the proud Kergarouet was not vanquished until he used
the words, "Savinien would go."
"It is better that I should go than he," she said.
CHAPTER XI
SAVINIEN SAVED
The clock was striking nine when the little door made in the large
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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 War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells: the possible fate of my wife. The former gave me no sensa-
tion of horror or remorse to recall; I saw it simply as a thing
done, a memory infinitely disagreeable but quite without the
quality of remorse. I saw myself then as I see myself now,
driven step by step towards that hasty blow, the creature of
a sequence of accidents leading inevitably to that. I felt no
condemnation; yet the memory, static, unprogressive, haunted
me. In the silence of the night, with that sense of the near-
ness of God that sometimes comes into the stillness and the
darkness, I stood my trial, my only trial, for that moment of
wrath and fear. I retraced every step of our conversation from
War of the Worlds |
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 Emma McChesney & Co. by Edna Ferber: six o'clock would find her seated in the dark and smelly
Colarossi kitchen, trying, with all her tact and patience and
sympathy, to make home life possible again for the flashing-eyed
Carmela. When the deft, brown fingers of Otti Markis became
clumsy at her machine, and her wage slumped unaccountably from
sixteen to six dollars a week, it was in Emma's quiet little
office that it became clear why Otti's eyes were shadowed and why
Otti's mouth drooped so pathetically. Emma prescribed a love
philter made up of common sense, understanding, and world-
wisdom. Otti took it, only half comprehending, but sure of its
power. In a week, Otti's eyes were shadowless, her lips smiling,
Emma McChesney & Co. |
