| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Albert Savarus by Honore de Balzac: sense of satisfaction after coming to this resolution, inspired by the
natural rectitude of youth. And she was confirmed in it by a girl's
idea: She was sacrificing herself for /him/.
"She does not know how to love," thought she. "Ah! if it were I--I
would give up everything to a man who loved me so.--To be loved!--
When, by whom shall I be loved? That little Monsieur de Soulas only
loves my money; if I were poor, he would not even look at me."
"Rosalie, my child, what are you thinking about? You are working
beyond the outline," said the Baroness to her daughter, who was making
worsted-work slippers for the Baron.
Rosalie spent the winter of 1834-35 torn by secret tumults; but in the
Albert Savarus |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Water-Babies by Charles Kingsley: the soft mud, into veins and cracks, and hardened there. Whereby
it comes to pass that the rocks are full of metal.
But, all of a sudden, somebody shut off the steam below, and the
hole was left empty in an instant: and then down rushed the water
into the hole, in such a whirlpool that the bogy spun round and
round as fast as a teetotum. But that was all in his day's work,
like a fair fall with the hounds; so all he did was to say to Tom -
"Now is your time, youngster, to get down, if you are in earnest,
which I don't believe."
"You'll soon see," said Tom; and away he went, as bold as Baron
Munchausen, and shot down the rushing cataract like a salmon at
|
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Silas Marner by George Eliot: with crime as a dishonour.
"O Godfrey!" she said, with compassion in her tone, for she had
immediately reflected that the dishonour must be felt still more
keenly by her husband.
"There was the money in the pit," he continued--"all the
weaver's money. Everything's been gathered up, and they're taking
the skeleton to the Rainbow. But I came back to tell you: there was
no hindering it; you must know."
He was silent, looking on the ground for two long minutes. Nancy
would have said some words of comfort under this disgrace, but she
refrained, from an instinctive sense that there was something behind--
Silas Marner |
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 Ivanhoe by Walter Scott: would stand in no small need of a powerful protector
who enjoyed Richard's favour.
``Thou art speaking but sooth, Rebecca,'' said
Isaac, giving way to these weighty arguments---``it
were an offending of Heaven to betray the secrets
of the blessed Miriam; for the good which Heaven
giveth, is not rashly to be squandered upon
others, whether it be talents of gold and shekels of
silver, or whether it be the secret mysteries of a wise
physician---assuredly they should be preserved to
those to whom Providence hath vouchsafed them.
Ivanhoe |
