| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Father Goriot by Honore de Balzac: neither of the sisters spoke. It must have been selfishness
indeed that could hear unmoved that cry of anguish that, like a
pebble thrown over a precipice, revealed the depths of his
despair.
"I found the money, father, by selling what was not mine to
sell," and the Countess burst into tears.
Delphine was touched; she laid her head on her sister's shoulder,
and cried too.
"Then it is all true," she said.
Anastasie bowed her head, Mme. de Nucingen flung her arms about
her, kissed her tenderly, and held her sister to her heart.
Father Goriot |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from On Horsemanship by Xenophon: [18] Or, "of forcing the rider's hand and bolting."
[19] Or, "to display violence or run away."
It is important also to observe whether the jaws are soft or hard on
one or other side, since as a rule a horse with unequal jaws[20] is
liable to become hard-mouthed on one side.
[20] Or, "whose bars are not equally sensitive."
Again, a prominent rather than a sunken eye is suggestive of
alertness, and a horse of this type will have a wider range of vision.
And so of the nostrils: a wide-dilated nostril is at once better than
a contracted one for respiration, and gives the animal a fiercer
aspect. Note how, for instance, when one stallion is enraged against
On Horsemanship |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from The Black Arrow by Robert Louis Stevenson: decamped by a postern door.
But Dick and Lawless still remained in pawn; they had, indeed,
arisen on the first alarm, and pushed manfully to gain the door;
but what with the narrowness of the stalls and the crowding of
terrified priests and choristers, the attempt had been in vain, and
they had stoically resumed their places.
And now, pale with horror, Sir Oliver rose to his feet and called
upon Sir Daniel, pointing with one hand to Dick.
"Here," he cried, "is Richard Shelton - alas the hour! - blood
guilty! Seize him! - bid him be seized! For all our lives' sakes,
take him and bind him surely! He hath sworn our fall."
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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 Contrast by Royall Tyler: abiding of our people were kept away from all theatrical
amusements, if not from inclination, at least by the fear
of deviating from the plain path of their duty. But
immediately after the production of the 'Contrast,' a
radical change of opinion in respect to the drama is
apparent.
Plays by American authors followed in rapid succes-
sion, the stigma against the theater gradually and com-
pletely faded away; and when the first citizen of the
United States, the immortal Washington, attended in
state as President to witness a first-night performance
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