| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Father Goriot by Honore de Balzac: neighborhood as the Maison Vauquer) receives men and women, old
and young, and no word has ever been breathed against her
respectable establishment; but, at the same time, it must be said
that as a matter of fact no young woman has been under her roof
for thirty years, and that if a young man stays there for any
length of time it is a sure sign that his allowance must be of
the slenderest. In 1819, however, the time when this drama opens,
there was an almost penniless young girl among Mme. Vauquer's
boarders.
That word drama has been somewhat discredited of late; it has
been overworked and twisted to strange uses in these days of
Father Goriot |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Barlaam and Ioasaph by St. John of Damascus: continue in thy good confession until the end, and may neither
time nor tide ever pluck it out of thine heart! For myself, I
will depart straightway in search of my salvation, and will by
penance pacify that God whom I have angered: for, except thou
will it, I shall see the king's face no more." Then was the
prince exceeding glad, and joyfully heard his saying. And he
embraced and kissed him affectionately; and, when he had prayed
earnestly to God, he sent him forth from the palace.
So Nachor stepped forth with a contrite heart, and went bounding
into the depths of the desert, like as doth an hart, and came to
a den belonging to a monk that had attained to the dignity of the
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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 The Riverman by Stewart Edward White: spidery wheels of the buckboard swung lightly over the wet hummocks
of the clearing, to come to a stop opposite the men. Orde leaned
forward against his knees.
"Hullo, boys!" said he cheerfully.
No one replied, though two or three nodded surlily. Orde looked
them over with some interest.
They were a dirty, unkempt, unshaven, hard-looking lot, with
bloodshot eyes, a flicker of the dare-devil in expression, beyond
the first youth, hardened into an enduring toughness of fibre--bad
men from the Saginaw, in truth, and, unless Orde was mistaken, men
just off a drunk, and therefore especially dangerous; men eager to
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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 1984 by George Orwell: 'I'm due back at nineteen-thirty. I've got to put in two hours for the
Junior Anti-Sex League, handing out leaflets, or something. Isn't it
bloody? Give me a brush-down, would you? Have I got any twigs in my hair?
Are you sure? Then good-bye, my love, good-bye!'
She flung herself into his arms, kissed him almost violently, and a moment
later pushed her way through the saplings and disappeared into the wood
with very little noise. Even now he had not found out her surname or her
address. However, it made no difference, for it was inconceivable that
they could ever meet indoors or exchange any kind of written communication.
As it happened, they never went back to the clearing in the wood. During
the month of May there was only one further occasion on which they actually
1984 |
