| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Scenes from a Courtesan's Life by Honore de Balzac: desire of a lover gives to the woman he loves to ask Lucien a single
question regarding Herrera, of whom indeed she lived in constant awe;
she dared not even think of him. The elaborate benefactions of that
extraordinary man, to whom Esther undoubtedly owed her feminine
accomplishment and her well-bred manner, struck the poor girl as
advances on account of hell.
"I shall have to pay for all this some day," she would tell herself
with dismay.
Every fine night she went out in a hired carriage. She was driven with
a rapidity no doubt insisted on by the Abbe, in one or another of the
beautiful woods round Paris, Boulogne, Vincennes, Romainville, or
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Manon Lescaut by Abbe Prevost: that the chevalier does not escape you: he is a scamp that once
before escaped from St. Lazare.'
"He went out, and left me in a condition that you may picture to
yourself. `O Heavens!' cried I to myself, `I receive with humble
submission all your visitations; but that a wretched scoundrel
should thus have the power to tyrannise over me! this it is that
plunges me into the depths of despair!' The archers begged that
we would not detain them any longer. They had a coach at the
door. `Come, my dear angel,' said I to Manon, as we went down,
`come, let us submit to our destiny in all its rigour: it may one
day please Heaven to render us more happy.'
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| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Twice Told Tales by Nathaniel Hawthorne: them, lest they say, 'Lo, he feareth!' "
"Nay, I will present myself before them," said Pearson, with
recovered fortitude. "It may be that they seek me alone, and know
not that thou abidest with me."
"Let us go boldly, both one and the other," rejoined his
companion. "It is not fitting that thou or I should shrink."
They therefore proceeded through the entry to the door, which
they opened, bidding the applicant "Come in, in God's name!" A
furious blast of wind drove the storm into their faces, and
extinguished the lamp; they had barely time to discern a figure,
so white from head to foot with the drifted snow that it seemed
Twice Told Tales |
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 Inaugural Address by John F. Kennedy: the role of defending freedom in its hour of maximum danger; I do not shrink
from this responsibility. . .I welcome it. I do not believe that any of us
would exchange places with any other people or any other generation.
The energy, the faith, the devotion which we bring to this endeavor
will light our country and all who serve it. . .and the glow from
that fire can truly light the world.
And so, my fellow Americans. . .ask not what your country can
do for you. . .ask what you can do for your country. My fellow
citizens of the world. . .ask not what America will do for you,
but what together we can do for the Freedom of Man.
Finally, whether you are citizens of America or citizens of the world,
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