| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Message by Honore de Balzac: charm possessed by every woman who loves; and, with even
supererogatory simplicity, afforded us that just sufficient spice
of danger which increases pleasure. Ah! how quickly the wind
swept away our talk and our happy laughter!
When we reached Pouilly, I scanned my new friend with much
interest, and truly, it was not difficult to imagine him the hero
of a very serious love affair. Picture to yourselves a young man
of middle height, but very well proportioned, a bright,
expressive face, dark hair, blue eyes, moist lips, and white and
even teeth. A certain not unbecoming pallor still overspread his
delicately cut features, and there were faint dark circles about
|
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Chouans by Honore de Balzac: love gives to life. The certainty of being loved, sought through so
many perils, had given birth to a desire to re-enter those social
conditions which sanction love, and which despair alone had made her
leave. To love for a moment only now seemed to her a species of
weakness. She saw herself lifted from the dregs of society, where
misfortune had driven her, to the high rank in which her father had
meant to place her. Her vanity, repressed for a time by the cruel
alternations of hope and misconception, was awakened and showed her
all the benefits of a great position. Born in a certain way to rank,
marriage to a marquis meant, to her mind, living and acting in the
sphere that belonged to her. Having known the chances and changes of
The Chouans |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne: the theory of Sir Humphry Davy, Saknussemm's document, and my uncle's
theories would all go off in smoke. This hypothesis led me to examine
with more attention the appearance of the surface, and I soon arrived
at a conclusion as to the nature of the forces which presided at its
birth.
Iceland, which is entirely devoid of alluvial soil, is wholly
composed of volcanic tufa, that is to say, an agglomeration of porous
rocks and stones. Before the volcanoes broke out it consisted of trap
rocks slowly upraised to the level of the sea by the action of
central forces. The internal fires had not yet forced their way
through.
Journey to the Center of the Earth |
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 Hellenica by Xenophon: But I give you my word, men of Miletus, that in return for any
assistance which you can render us while waiting for these aids, I
will requite you richly. Only by God's help let us show these
barbarians that we do not need to worship them, in order to punish our
foes."
The speech was effective; many members of the assembly arose, and not
the least eagerly those who were accused of opposing him. These, in
some terror, proposed a vote of money, backed by offers of further
private contributions. Furnished with these sums, and having procured
from Chios a further remittance of five drachmas[5] a piece as outfit
for each seaman, he set sail to Methyma in Lesbos, which was in the
|
