| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Early Short Fiction of Edith Wharton by Edith Wharton: To pour them in a consecrated cup.
TWO BACKGROUNDS.
I.
LA VIERGE AU DONATEUR.
HERE by the ample river's argent sweep,
Bosomed in tilth and vintage to her walls,
A tower-crowned Cybele in armored sleep
The city lies, fat plenty in her halls,
With calm, parochial spires that hold in fee
The friendly gables clustered at their base,
And, equipoised o'er tower and market-place,
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from King James Bible: observe his commandments:
NEH 1:6 Let thine ear now be attentive, and thine eyes open, that thou
mayest hear the prayer of thy servant, which I pray before thee now, day
and night, for the children of Israel thy servants, and confess the sins
of the children of Israel, which we have sinned against thee: both I and
my father's house have sinned.
NEH 1:7 We have dealt very corruptly against thee, and have not kept
the commandments, nor the statutes, nor the judgments, which thou
commandedst thy servant Moses.
NEH 1:8 Remember, I beseech thee, the word that thou commandedst thy
servant Moses, saying, If ye transgress, I will scatter you abroad among
King James Bible |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from The Message by Honore de Balzac: countenance--a wizened, wrinkled, sunburned face, and long, sleek
locks of scanty gray hair; as to character--an incredible mixture
of homely sense and sheer silliness; of a rich man's overbearing
ways, and a total lack of manners; just the kind of husband who
is almost entirely led by his wife, yet imagines himself to be
the master; apt to domineer in trifles, and to let more important
things slip past unheeded--there you have the man!
But the Countess! Ah, how sharp and startling the contrast
between husband and wife! The Countess was a little woman, with a
flat, graceful figure and enchanting shape; so fragile, so dainty
was she, that you would have feared to break some bone if you so
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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 Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas: battle-fields with his sword and his victories; possessing
five and twenty thousand francs a year, besides your place;
a horse, for which Chateau-Renaud offered you four hundred
louis, and which you would not part with; a tailor who never
disappoints you; with the opera, the jockey-club, and other
diversions, can you not amuse yourself? Well, I will amuse
you."
"How?"
"By introducing to you a new acquaintance."
"A man or a woman?"
"A man."
The Count of Monte Cristo |
