| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Witch, et. al by Anton Chekhov: edge of the wood, and then down hill to a meadow which by degrees
turned into a marsh. There was a squelch of water under his feet,
and the rusty marsh sedge, still green and juicy, drooped down to
the earth as though afraid of being trampled underfoot. Beyond
the marsh, on the bank of the Pestchanka, of which the old man
had spoken, stood a row of willows, and beyond the willows a barn
looked dark blue in the mist. One could feel the approach of that
miserable, utterly inevitable season, when the fields grow dark
and the earth is muddy and cold, when the weeping willow seems
still more mournful and tears trickle down its stem, and only the
cranes fly away from the general misery, and even they, as though
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Two Brothers by Honore de Balzac: the turn of events, and entreated his mother to let him go to Monsieur
Regnauld, promising to earn his own living. He declared he was quite
sufficiently advanced in the second class to get on without rhetoric.
Philippe, a captain at nineteen and decorated, who had, moreover,
served the Emperor as an aide-de-camp in two battles, flattered the
mother's vanity immensely. Coarse, blustering, and without real merit
beyond the vulgar bravery of a cavalry officer, he was to her mind a
man of genius; whereas Joseph, puny and sickly, with unkempt hair and
absent mind, seeking peace, loving quiet, and dreaming of an artist's
glory, would only bring her, she thought, worries and anxieties.
The winter of 1814-1815 was a lucky one for Joseph. Secretly
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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 Light of Western Stars by Zane Grey: absence of spoken praise, a gradually deepening silence, attested
to the impression on the visitors of that noble sunset. Just as
the last curve of red rim vanished beyond the dim Sierra Madres
and the golden lightning began to flare brighter Helen broke the
silence with an exclamation.
"It wants only life. Ah, there's a horse climbing the hill!
See, he's up! He has a rider!"
Madeline knew before she looked the identity of the man riding up
the mesa. But she did not know until that moment how the habit
of watching for him at this hour had grown upon her. He rode
along the rim of the mesa and out to the point, where, against
The Light of Western Stars |
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 Kenilworth by Walter Scott: the course you propose."
"Speak on, then, Varney," said the Earl; "I tell thee I have
determined nothing, and will weigh all considerations on either
side."
"Well, then, my lord," replied Varney, "we will suppose the step
taken, the frown frowned, the laugh laughed, and the moan moaned.
You have retired, we will say, to some one of your most distant
castles, so far from court that you hear neither the sorrow of
your friends nor the glee of your enemies, We will suppose, too,
that your successful rival will be satisfied (a thing greatly to
be doubted) with abridging and cutting away the branches of the
Kenilworth |
