| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Seraphita by Honore de Balzac: one of our own actions,--struggles which are, as it were, the reverse
side of humanity. This reverse side belongs to God; the obverse side
to men. More than once Seraphita had proved to Wilfrid that she knew
this hidden and ever varied side, which is to the majority of men a
second being. Often she said to him in her dove-like voice: "Why all
this vehemence?" when on his way to her he had sworn she should be
his. Wilfrid was, however, strong enough to raise the cry of revolt to
which he had given utterance in Monsieur Becker's study. The narrative
of the old pastor had calmed him. Sceptical and derisive as he was, he
saw belief like a sidereal brilliance dawning on his life. He asked
himself if Seraphita were not an exile from the higher spheres seeking
Seraphita |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Little Rivers by Henry van Dyke: we climbed the ladder to the main-deck we felt that we had indeed
gotten out of the wilderness. My old friend, Captain Savard, made
us welcome. He had been sent out, much to his disgust, to catch a
runaway boom of logs and tow it back to Roberval; it would be an
all night affair; but we must take possession of his stateroom and
make ourselves comfortable; he would certainly bring us to the
hotel in time for breakfast. So he went off on the upper deck, and
we heard him stamping about and yelling to his crew as they
struggled to get their unwieldy drove of six thousand logs in
motion.
All night long we assisted at the lumbermen's difficult enterprise.
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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 Master of the World by Jules Verne: after her, until the hour when, as night closed in, they would be
forced to abandon the useless pursuit!
The city of Buffalo was now in plain view on the border of the lake.
I saw its huge buildings, its church towers, its grain elevators.
Only four or five miles ahead, Niagara river opened to the northward.
Under these new conditions which way should I turn? When we passed in
front of the destroyers, or perhaps between them, should I not throw
myself into the waters I was a good swimmer, and such a chance might
never occur again. The captain could not stop to recapture me. By
diving could I not easily escape, even from a bullet? I should surely
be seen by one or other of the pursuers. Perhaps, even, their
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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 Early Short Fiction of Edith Wharton by Edith Wharton: brown ear. He was an old grave dog, much more experienced than
the others; and he seemed to be observing me with a deeper
intentness.
"I'll hear from HIM," I said to myself; but he stood in the empty
window-frame, against the trees of the park, and continued to
watch me without moving. I looked back at him for a time, to see
if the sense that he was being watched would not rouse him. Half
the width of the court lay between us, and we stared at each
other silently across it. But he did not stir, and at last I
turned away. Behind me I found the rest of the pack, with a
newcomer added: a small black greyhound with pale agate-coloured
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