| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne: town, he took an impression of change from the series of familiar
objects that presented themselves. It seemed not yesterday,
THE MINISTER IN A MAZE 261
not one, not two, but many days, or even years ago, since he had
quitted them. There, indeed, was each former trace of the
The Scarlet Letter |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Call of the Wild by Jack London: among the trees. Here a yellow stream flows from rotted moose-
hide sacks and sinks into the ground, with long grasses growing
through it and vegetable mould overrunning it and hiding its
yellow from the sun; and here he muses for a time, howling once,
long and mournfully, ere he departs.
But he is not always alone. When the long winter nights come on
and the wolves follow their meat into the lower valleys, he may be
seen running at the head of the pack through the pale moonlight or
glimmering borealis, leaping gigantic above his fellows, his great
throat a-bellow as he sings a song of the younger world, which is
the song of the pack.
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| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Venus and Adonis by William Shakespeare: Then, like a melancholy malcontent,
He vails his tail, that, like a falling plume,
Cool shadow to his melting buttock lent:
He stamps, and bites the poor flies in his fume. 316
His love, perceiving how he is enrag'd,
Grew kinder, and his fury was assuag'd.
His testy master goeth about to take him;
When lo! the unback'd breeder, full of fear, 320
Jealous of catching, swiftly doth forsake him,
With her the horse, and left Adonis there:
As they were mad, unto the wood they hie them,
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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 The Secrets of the Princesse de Cadignan by Honore de Balzac: the shape of my face, my mouth, my smile, my teeth!--well, his birth
was a relief to me; my thoughts were diverted by the first joys of
maternity from my husband, who gave me no pleasure and did nothing for
me that was kind or amiable; those joys were all the keener because I
knew no others. It had been so often rung into my ears that a mother
should respect herself. Besides, a young girl loves to play the
mother. I was so proud of my flower--for Georges was beautiful, a
miracle, I thought! I saw and thought of nothing but my son, I lived
with my son. I never let his nurse dress or undress him. Such cares,
so wearing to mothers who have a regiment of children, were all my
pleasure. But after three or four years, as I was not an actual fool,
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