| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Modeste Mignon by Honore de Balzac: with tears which, it is said, were lacking in those of the wittiest of
English writers.
Modeste existed for some time on a comprehension, not only of the
works, but of the characters of her favorite authors,--Goldsmith, the
author of Obermann, Charles Nodier, Maturin. The poorest and the most
suffering among them were her deities; she guessed their trials,
initiated herself into a destitution where the thoughts of genius
brooded, and poured upon it the treasures of her heart; she fancied
herself the giver of material comfort to these great men, martyrs to
their own faculty. This noble compassion, this intuition of the
struggles of toilers, this worship of genius, are among the choicest
Modeste Mignon |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Complete Poems of Longfellow by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow: But the goodly gift of liberty
Cannot be bought and sold."
III
"One of the finest of the historic ballads is that which
describes Bernardo's march to Roncesvalles. He sallies forth
'with three
thousand Leonese and more,' to protect the glory and freedom of
his native land. From all sides, the peasantry of the land flock
to
the hero's standard."
The peasant leaves his plough afield,
|
