| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Brother of Daphne by Dornford Yates: towards us.
"Thank Heaven!" he said when he saw me. "I'm so glad you're
back. I've run out of your cigarettes."
I handed him my case in silence.
"It's curious," he said, "how used one can get to inferior
tobacco."
Tea appeared in serial form. After depositing the three-storied
cake dish holder- or whatever the thing is called- with a
to-be-completed air, the footman disappeared, to return a moment
later with the teapot and hot water. As he turned to go:
"Bring me the tray that's on the billiard-table," said Berry.
The Brother of Daphne |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Golden Sayings of Epictetus by Epictetus: I left!" he cried. "That," I said, "you will not do; but the
moment the scent of Rome is in your nostrils, you will forget it
all; and if you can but gain admission to Court, you will be glad
enough to elbow your way in, and thank God for it." "Epictetus,"
he replied, "if ever you find me setting as much as one foot
within the Court, think what you will of me."
Well, as it was, what did he do? Ere ever he entered the
city, he was met by a despatch from the Emperor. He took it, and
forgot the whole of his resolutions. From that moment, he has
been piling one thing upon another. I should like to be beside
him to remind him of what he said when passing this way, and to
The Golden Sayings of Epictetus |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Eugenie Grandet by Honore de Balzac: Pere Grandet a bold man, a republican, and a patriot with a mind open
to all the new ideas; though in point of fact it was open only to
vineyards. He was appointed a member of the administration of Saumur,
and his pacific influence made itself felt politically and
commercially. Politically, he protected the ci-devant nobles, and
prevented, to the extent of his power, the sale of the lands and
property of the /emigres/; commercially, he furnished the Republican
armies with two or three thousand puncheons of white wine, and took
his pay in splendid fields belonging to a community of women whose
lands had been reserved for the last lot.
Under the Consulate Grandet became mayor, governed wisely, and
Eugenie Grandet |
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 Dreams & Dust by Don Marquis: Under the stars very strangely
The still waters gleam;
Deep down in the waters of Hebron
The soul of the starlight is sunken,
But deep in thine eyes
Stirs a more wonderful secret
Than pools ever learn of the starlight.
THE JESTERS
A TOAST to the Fools!
Pierrot, Pantaloon,
Harlequin, Clown,
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