| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Unseen World and Other Essays by John Fiske: succeeded to the rule of the most powerful empire which had been
seen since the days of the Antonines. In the previous year a new
era had begun at the court of Rome. The old race of pagan
pontiffs, the Borgias, the Farneses, and the Medicis, had come to
an end, and the papal throne was occupied by the puritanical
Caraffa, as violent a fanatic as Robespierre, and a foe of
freedom as uncompromising as Philip II. himself. Under his
auspices took place the great reform in the Church signalized by
the rise of the Jesuits, as the reform in the thirteenth century
had been attended by the rise of the Cordeliers and Dominicans.
His name should not be forgotten, for it is mainly owing to the
The Unseen World and Other Essays |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Gobseck by Honore de Balzac: But once bring the case into a court of law, M. le Comte, the issue
would be doubtful. My advice to you is to come to terms with M.
Gobseck, who can plead that he bought the diamonds in all good faith;
you would be bound in any case to return the purchase money. Consent
to an arrangement, with power to redeem at the end of seven or eight
months, or a year even, or any convenient lapse of time, for the
repayment of the sum borrowed by Mme. la Comtesse, unless you would
prefer to repurchase them outright and give security for repayment.'
"Gobseck dipped his bread into the bowl of coffee, and ate with
perfect indifference; but at the words 'come to terms,' he looked at
me as who should say, 'A fine fellow that! he has learned something
Gobseck |
