| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Another Study of Woman by Honore de Balzac: theatre she never mounts higher than the second tier, excepting at the
Italiens. You can there watch at your leisure the studied
deliberateness of her movements. The enchanting deceiver plays off all
the little political artifices of her sex so naturally as to exclude
all idea of art or premeditation. If she has a royally beautiful hand,
the most perspicacious beholder will believe that it is absolutely
necessary that she should twist, or refix, or push aside the ringlet
or curl she plays with. If she has some dignity of profile, you will
be persuaded that she is giving irony or grace to what she says to her
neighbor, sitting in such a position as to produce the magical effect
of the 'lost profile,' so dear to great painters, by which the cheek
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Waste Land by T. S. Eliot: From doors of mudcracked houses
If there were water
And no rock
If there were rock
And also water
And water
A spring 350
A pool among the rock
If there were the sound of water only
Not the cicada
And dry grass singing
The Waste Land |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Twenty Years After by Alexandre Dumas: Grimaud. About seven o'clock in the morning they set out. De
Guiche, who was young and impulsive, said to Raoul, "Here we
are, three masters and three servants. Our valets are well
armed and yours seems to be tough enough."
"I have never seen him put to the test," replied Raoul, "but
he is a Breton, which promises something."
"Yes, yes," resumed De Guiche; "I am sure he can fire a
musket when required. On my side I have two sure men, who
have been in action with my father. We therefore represent
six fighting men; if we should meet a little troop of
enemies, equal or even superior in number to our own, shall
Twenty Years After |
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 Master of the World by Jules Verne: I went to the window and raising just an edge of the shade, so as not
to give any warning, I saw two men on the pavement.
They were rather fine-looking men, broad-shouldered and vigorous,
aged somewhat under forty, dressed in the ordinary fashion of the
day, with slouched hats, heavy woolen suits, stout walking shoes and
sticks in hand. Undoubtedly, they were staring persistently at my
apparently unwatchful house. Then, having exchanged a few words, they
strolled off a little way, and returned again.
"Are you sure these are the same men you saw before?"
"Yes, sir."
Evidently, I could no longer dismiss her warning as an hallucination;
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