| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Eugenie Grandet by Honore de Balzac: trying to utter his words that Grandet fell a victim to his humanity
and was compelled to prompt the wily Jew with the words and ideas he
seemed to seek, to complete himself the arguments of the said Jew, to
say what that cursed Jew ought to have said for himself; in short, to
be the Jew instead of being Grandet. When the cooper came out of this
curious encounter he had concluded the only bargain of which in the
course of a long commercial life he ever had occasion to complain. But
if he lost at the time pecuniarily, he gained morally a valuable
lesson; later, he gathered its fruits. Indeed, the goodman ended by
blessing that Jew for having taught him the art of irritating his
commercial antagonist and leading him to forget his own thoughts in
 Eugenie Grandet |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Maitre Cornelius by Honore de Balzac: as the devil's tail."
"I have supped," he said.
"Well then," replied the miser, "you can come back and see me to-
morrow. I have done without an apprentice for some years. Besides, I
wish to sleep upon the matter."
"Hey! by Saint-Bavon, monsieur, I am a Fleming; I don't know a soul in
this place; the chains are up in the streets, and I shall be put in
prison. However," he added, frightened at the eagerness he was showing
in his words, "if it is your good pleasure, of course I will go."
The oath seemed to affect the old man singularly.
"Come, come, by Saint-Bavon indeed, you shall sleep here."
|