| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Lord Arthur Savile's Crime, etc. by Oscar Wilde: 'I don't think much of them,' said Lord Arthur, with a sad smile,
and, after kissing his mother, he left the room.
When he got upstairs, he flung himself on a sofa, and his eyes
filled with tears. He had done his best to commit this murder, but
on both occasions he had failed, and through no fault of his own.
He had tried to do his duty, but it seemed as if Destiny herself
had turned traitor. He was oppressed with the sense of the
barrenness of good intentions, of the futility of trying to be
fine. Perhaps, it would be better to break off the marriage
altogether. Sybil would suffer, it is true, but suffering could
not really mar a nature so noble as hers. As for himself, what did
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Dust by Mr. And Mrs. Haldeman-Julius: "A smart boy you've got, Jacob," chuckled Peter, jovially, after
the first heart-warming greetings. "See that critter! Blame me if
Martin, here, didn't speak right up and ask me to lend 'er to
you!" And he collapsed into gargantuan laughter.
"I promised when she'd growed up and brought pigs, we'd give him
back two for one," Martin hastily explained.
"That's what he said," nodded Peter, carefully switching his navy
plug to the opposite cheek before settling down to reply, "and
sez I, 'Why, Martin, what d'ye want o' that there shoat? You
ain't got nothin' to keep her on!' 'If I can borrow the pig,' sez
he, 'I reckon I can borrow the feed somewheres.' God knows, he'll
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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 Eugenie Grandet by Honore de Balzac: house.
*****
Five years passed away without a single event to relieve the
monotonous existence of Eugenie and her father. The same actions were
performed daily with the automatic regularity of clockwork. The deep
sadness of Mademoiselle Grandet was known to every one; but if others
surmised the cause, she herself never uttered a word that justified
the suspicions which all Saumur entertained about the state of the
rich heiress's heart. Her only society was made up of the three
Cruchots and a few of their particular friends whom they had, little
by little, introduced into the Grandet household. They had taught her
Eugenie Grandet |
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 Deserted Woman by Honore de Balzac: Vicomtesse, returned to say that she would receive him.
"M. le Baron de Nueil."
Gaston came in slowly, but with sufficient ease of manner; and it is a
more difficult thing, be it said, to enter a room where there is but
one woman, than a room that holds a score.
A great fire was burning on the hearth in spite of the mild weather,
and by the soft light of the candles in the sconces he saw a young
woman sitting on a high-backed /bergere/ in the angle by the hearth.
The seat was so low that she could move her head freely; every turn of
it was full of grace and delicate charm, whether she bent, leaning
forward, or raised and held it erect, slowly and languidly, as though
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