| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Maitre Cornelius by Honore de Balzac: The existence of Peoples has no more solemn scenes, no moments more
majestic. To mankind in the mass, movement is needed to make it
poetical; but in these hours of religious thought, when human riches
unite themselves with celestial grandeur, incredible sublimities are
felt in the silence; there is fear in the bended knee, hope in the
clasping hands. The concert of feelings in which all souls are rising
heavenward produces an inexplicable phenomenon of spirituality. The
mystical exaltation of the faithful reacts upon each of them; the
feebler are no doubt borne upward by the waves of this ocean of faith
and love. Prayer, a power electrical, draws our nature above itself.
This involuntary union of all wills, equally prostrate on the earth,
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Emma by Jane Austen: of what was coming; and in the rapidity of half a moment's thought,
she hoped Mr. Elton would now be talked of no more.
Mr. Weston gave her the history of the engagements at Enscombe,
which allowed his son to answer for having an entire fortnight at
his command, as well as the route and the method of his journey;
and she listened, and smiled, and congratulated.
"I shall soon bring him over to Hartfield," said he, at the conclusion.
Emma could imagine she saw a touch of the arm at this speech,
from his wife.
"We had better move on, Mr. Weston," said she, "we are detaining
the girls."
Emma |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Massimilla Doni by Honore de Balzac: At that instant, the Duke noticed that the supper had been disturbed;
he looked round the room, and discovered the Prince's trousers hanging
over a chair at the foot of the bed.
"Clarina, I will not ring!" cried the Duke, in a shrill voice of fury.
"I will not play the violin this evening, nor tomorrow, nor ever
again--"
"Ta, ta, ta, ta!" sang Clarina, on the four octaves of the same note,
leaping from one to the next with the ease of a nightingale.
"In spite of that voice, which would make your patron saint Clara
envious, you are really too impudent, you rascally hussy!"
"You have not brought me up to listen to such abuse," said she, with
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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 Aesop's Fables by Aesop: they got near the bank of the lake, a troop of Frogs, frightened
in their turn by the approach of the Hares scuttled off, and
jumped into the water. "Truly," said one of the Hares, "things
are not so bad as they seem:
"There is always someone worse off than yourself."
The Wolf and the Kid
A Kid was perched up on the top of a house, and looking down
saw a Wolf passing under him. Immediately he began to revile and
attack his enemy. "Murderer and thief," he cried, "what do you
here near honest folks' houses? How dare you make an appearance
where your vile deeds are known?"
Aesop's Fables |
