| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from King James Bible: and on all thy people, since the time of the kings of Assyria unto this
day.
NEH 9:33 Howbeit thou art just in all that is brought upon us; for thou
hast done right, but we have done wickedly:
NEH 9:34 Neither have our kings, our princes, our priests, nor our
fathers, kept thy law, nor hearkened unto thy commandments and thy
testimonies, wherewith thou didst testify against them.
NEH 9:35 For they have not served thee in their kingdom, and in thy
great goodness that thou gavest them, and in the large and fat land
which thou gavest before them, neither turned they from their wicked
works.
King James Bible |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Gambara by Honore de Balzac: of the soul over matter, of the Spirit of Good over the Spirit of
Evil. The strains of piety prevail over the chorus of hell, and
happiness appears glorious; but here the music is weaker. I only saw a
cathedral instead of hearing a concert of angels in bliss, and a
divine prayer consecrating the union of Robert and Isabella. We ought
not to have been left oppressed by the spells of hell; we ought to
emerge with hope in our heart.
"I, as musician and a Catholic, wanted another prayer like that in
/Mose/. I should have liked to see how Germany would contend with
Italy, what Meyerbeer could do in rivalry with Rossini.
"However, in spite of this trifling blemish, the writer cannot say
Gambara |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Domestic Peace by Honore de Balzac: gilding. His rival's stolid indifference put the lawyer out of
countenance. Quite incapable of controlling his secret transports of
impatience, Martial went towards Madame de Vaudremont with a bow. On
seeing the Provencal, Soulanges gave him a covert glance, and
impertinently turned away his head. Solemn silence now reigned in the
room, where curiosity was at the highest pitch. All these eager faces
wore the strangest mixed expressions; every one apprehended one of
those outbreaks which men of breeding carefully avoid. Suddenly the
Count's pale face turned as red as the scarlet facings of his coat,
and he fixed his gaze on the floor that the cause of his agitation
might not be guessed. On catching sight of the unknown lady humbly
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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 Sanitary and Social Lectures by Charles Kingsley: delivering it from the yearly tribute of boys and maidens to be
devoured by the Minotaur; Perseus slaying the Gorgon, and rescuing
Andromeda from the sea-beast; Heracles with his twelve famous
labours against giants and monsters; and all the rest -
Who dared, in the god-given might of their manhood,
Greatly to do and to suffer, and far in the fens and the forests
Smite the devourers of men, heaven-hated brood of the giants;
Transformed, strange, without like, who obey not the golden-haired
rulers.
These are figures whose divine moral beauty has sunk into the
hearts, not merely of poets or of artists, but of men and women
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