| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Mirror of the Sea by Joseph Conrad: But let that pass. Some of the masters whose influence left a
trace upon my character to this very day, combined a fierceness of
conception with a certitude of execution upon the basis of just
appreciation of means and ends which is the highest quality of the
man of action. And an artist is a man of action, whether he
creates a personality, invents an expedient, or finds the issue of
a complicated situation.
There were masters, too, I have known, whose very art consisted in
avoiding every conceivable situation. It is needless to say that
they never did great things in their craft; but they were not to be
despised for that. They were modest; they understood their
The Mirror of the Sea |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Albert Savarus by Honore de Balzac: She never for an instant doubted the sincerity of this poetical
flight; Albert had taken pleasure in telling the story of his passion,
while changing the names of persons and perhaps of places. Rosalie was
possessed by infernal curiosity. What woman but would, like her, have
wanted to know her rival's name--for she too loved! As she read these
pages, to her really contagious, she had said solemnly to herself, "I
love him!"--She loved Albert, and felt in her heart a gnawing desire
to fight for him, to snatch him from this unknown rival. She reflected
that she knew nothing of music, and that she was not beautiful.
"He will never love me!" thought she.
This conclusion aggravated her anxiety to know whether she might not
Albert Savarus |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from The Call of the Wild by Jack London: announced her condition by a long, heartbreaking wolf howl that
sent every dog bristling with fear, then sprang straight for Buck.
He had never seen a dog go mad, nor did he have any reason to fear
madness; yet he knew that here was horror, and fled away from it
in a panic. Straight away he raced, with Dolly, panting and
frothing, one leap behind; nor could she gain on him, so great was
his terror, nor could he leave her, so great was her madness. He
plunged through the wooded breast of the island, flew down to the
lower end, crossed a back channel filled with rough ice to another
island, gained a third island, curved back to the main river, and
in desperation started to cross it. And all the time, though he
|
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 Buttered Side Down by Edna Ferber: where your everyday clothes are, and where somebody, or something
needs you. They didn't need me over there in England. Lord no!
I was sick for the sight of a Navajo blanket. My shack's glowing
with them. And my books needed me, and the boys, and the critters,
and Kate."
"Kate?" repeated Miss Meron, quickly.
"Kate's my horse. I'm going back on the 5:25 to-night. This
is my regular trip, you know. I came around here to buy a paper,
because it has become a habit. And then, too, I sort of
felt--well, something told me that you----"
"You're a nice boy," said Miss Meron. "By the way, did I tell
Buttered Side Down |
