| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from House of Mirth by Edith Wharton: could be no question about the prescription: it was a copy of one
of Mrs. Hatch's, obligingly furnished by that lady's chemist.
Lily was confident that the clerk would fill it without
hesitation; yet the nervous dread of a refusal, or even of an
expression of doubt, communicated itself to her restless hands as
she affected to examine the bottles of perfume stacked on the
glass case before her.
The clerk had read the prescription without comment; but in the
act of handing out the bottle he paused.
"You don't want to increase the dose, you know," he remarked.
Lily's heart contracted.
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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 Odyssey by Homer: drag through the fallow field the jointed plough, yea and
welcome to such an one the sunlight sinketh, that so he may
get him to supper, for his knees wax faint by the way, even
so welcome was the sinking of the sunlight to Odysseus.
Then straight he spake among the Phaeacians, masters of the
oar, and to Alcinous in chief he made known his word,
saying:
'My lord Alcinous, most notable of all the people, pour ye
the drink offering, and send me safe upon my way, and as
for you, fare ye well. For now have I all that my heart
desired, an escort and loving gifts. May the gods of heaven
The Odyssey |
