| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Shakespeare's Sonnets by William Shakespeare: Yet, in good faith, some say that thee behold,
Thy face hath not the power to make love groan;
To say they err I dare not be so bold,
Although I swear it to myself alone.
And to be sure that is not false I swear,
A thousand groans, but thinking on thy face,
One on another's neck, do witness bear
Thy black is fairest in my judgment's place.
In nothing art thou black save in thy deeds,
And thence this slander, as I think, proceeds.
CXXXII
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Camille by Alexandre Dumas: Marguerite. You can well understand that, in spite of myself, my
expenses soon increased. Marguerite's nature was very capricious,
and, like so many women, she never regarded as a serious expense
those thousand and one distractions which made up her life. So,
wishing to spend as much time with me as possible, she would
write to me in the morning that she would dine with me, not at
home, but at some restaurant in Paris or in the country. I would
call for her, and we would dine and go on to the theatre, often
having supper as well; and by the end of the evening I had spent
four or five louis, which came to two or three thousand francs a
month, which reduced my year to three months and a half, and made
Camille |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from The Commission in Lunacy by Honore de Balzac: 'insufficient evidence' against applications of this kind. In our
state of society such an attempt brings no dishonor, while we send a
poor devil to the galleys who breaks a pane of glass dividing him from
a bowl full of gold. Our Code is not faultless."
"But these are the facts?"
"My boy, do you not know all the judicial romances with which clients
impose on their attorneys? If the attorneys condemned themselves to
state nothing but the truth, they would not earn enough to keep their
office open."
Next day, at four in the afternoon, a very stout dame, looking a good
deal like a cask dressed up in a gown and belt, mounted Judge
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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 Albert Savarus by Honore de Balzac: of hearing that eloquent voice, of winning a glance from those fine
eyes. All this she set her heart on, but how could she achieve it?
All that day she drew her needle through her embroidery with the
obtuse concentration of a girl who, like Agnes, seems to be thinking
of nothing, but who is reflecting on things in general so deeply, that
her artifice is unfailing. As a result of this profound meditation,
Rosalie thought she would go to confession. Next morning, after Mass,
she had a brief interview with the Abbe Giroud at Saint-Pierre, and
managed so ingeniously that the hour of her confession was fixed for
Sunday morning at half-past seven, before the eight o'clock Mass. She
committed herself to a dozen fibs in order to find herself, just for
Albert Savarus |
