| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Walden by Henry David Thoreau: cat-owl from very near me, with the most harsh and tremendous voice
I ever heard from any inhabitant of the woods, responded at regular
intervals to the goose, as if determined to expose and disgrace this
intruder from Hudson's Bay by exhibiting a greater compass and
volume of voice in a native, and boo-hoo him out of Concord horizon.
What do you mean by alarming the citadel at this time of night
consecrated to me? Do you think I am ever caught napping at such an
hour, and that I have not got lungs and a larynx as well as
yourself? Boo-hoo, boo-hoo, boo-hoo! It was one of the most
thrilling discords I ever heard. And yet, if you had a
discriminating ear, there were in it the elements of a concord such
Walden |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Recruit by Honore de Balzac: mixed society, without humiliating the touchy pride of the parvenus,
or shocking that of her own friends.
Then about thirty-eight years of age, she still preserved, not the
fresh plump beauty which distinguishes the daughters of Lower
Normandy, but a fragile and, so to speak, aristocratic beauty. Her
features were delicate and refined, her figure supple and easy. When
she spoke, her pale face lighted and seemed to acquire fresh life. Her
large dark eyes were full of affability and kindness, and yet their
calm, religious expression seemed to say that the springs of her
existence were no longer in her.
Married in the flower of her age to an old and jealous soldier, the
|
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from The Hidden Masterpiece by Honore de Balzac: "Love should grant all things!" she exclaimed, ready to sacrifice
love's scruples to reward the lover who thus seemed to sacrifice his
art to her. "And yet," she added, "it would be my ruin. Ah, to suffer
for thy good! Yes, it is glorious! But thou wilt forget me. How came
this cruel thought into thy mind?"
"It came there, and yet I love thee," he said, with a sort of
contrition. "Am I, then, a wretch?"
"Let us consult Pere Hardouin."
"No, no! it must be a secret between us."
"Well, I will go; but thou must not be present," she said. "Stay at
the door, armed with thy dagger. If I cry out, enter and kill the
|
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 Bab:A Sub-Deb, Mary Roberts Rinehart by Mary Roberts Rinehart: is, and not as supposed to be.
"It may in places be, ugly" I said, "but Truth is my banner. The
Truth is never ugly, because it is real. It is, for instance, not
ugly if a man is in love with the wife of another, if it is real
love, and not the passing fansy of a moment."
Mother opened her mouth, but did not say anything.
"There was a time," I said, "when I longed for things that now have
no value whatever to me. I cared for clothes and even for the
attentions of the Other Sex. But that has passed away, mother. I
have now no thought but for my Career."
I watched her face, and soon the dreadfull understanding came to
|
