| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Gobseck by Honore de Balzac: sign of relenting.
" ' "What nonsense! You are talking to some one," said the voice, and
in came a man who could only be the Count.
" 'The Countess gave me a glance. I saw how it was. She was thoroughly
in my power. There was a time, when I was young, and might perhaps
have been stupid enough not to protest the bill. At Pondicherry, in
1763, I let a woman off, and nicely she paid me out afterwards. I
deserved it; what call was there for me to trust her?
" ' "What does this gentleman want?" asked the Count.
" 'I could see that the Countess was trembling from head to foot; the
white satin skin of her throat was rough, "turned to goose flesh," to
Gobseck |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Ivanhoe by Walter Scott: of steeds and arms which can never be used by
braver cavaliers.---I would I could here end my
message to these gallant knights; but being, as I
term myself, in truth and earnest, the Disinherited,
I must be thus far bound to your masters, that they
will, of their courtesy, be pleased to ransom their
steeds and armour, since that which I wear I can
hardly term mine own.''
``We stand commissioned, each of us,'' answered
the squire of Reginald Front-de-Buf, ``to offer
a hundred zecchins in ransom of these horses and
Ivanhoe |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Fantastic Fables by Ambrose Bierce: The Dog and the Physician
A DOG that had seen a Physician attending the burial of a wealthy
patient, said: "When do you expect to dig it up?"
"Why should I dig it up?" the Physician asked.
"When I bury a bone," said the Dog, "it is with an intention to
uncover it later and pick it."
"The bones that I bury," said the Physician, "are those that I can
no longer pick."
The Party Manager and the Gentleman
A PARTY Manager said to a Gentleman whom he saw minding his own
business:
Fantastic Fables |
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 The Wife, et al by Anton Chekhov: laugh; a door slammed, and Olga Ivanovna ran into the room,
wearing a wide-brimmed hat and carrying a box in her hand; she
was followed by Ryabovsky, rosy and good-humoured, carrying a big
umbrella and a camp-stool.
"Dymov!" cried Olga Ivanovna, and she flushed crimson with
pleasure. "Dymov!" she repeated, laying her head and both arms on
his bosom. "Is that you? Why haven't you come for so long? Why?
Why?"
"When could I, little mother? I am always busy, and whenever I am
free it always happens somehow that the train does not fit."
"But how glad I am to see you! I have been dreaming about you the
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