| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Turn of the Screw by Henry James: I had plenty of anguish after that extraordinary moment,
but I had, thank God, no terror. And he knew I had not--I found
myself at the end of an instant magnificently aware of this.
I felt, in a fierce rigor of confidence, that if I stood
my ground a minute I should cease--for the time, at least--
to have him to reckon with; and during the minute, accordingly,
the thing was as human and hideous as a real interview:
hideous just because it WAS human, as human as to have
met alone, in the small hours, in a sleeping house, some enemy,
some adventurer, some criminal. It was the dead silence of our
long gaze at such close quarters that gave the whole horror,
|
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Ball at Sceaux by Honore de Balzac: introduced into his immense composition of French Warriors received by
Ossian. Emilie fancied that she recognized her as a distinguished
milady who for some months had been living on a neighboring estate.
Her partner was a lad of about fifteen, with red hands, and dressed in
nankeen trousers, a blue coat, and white shoes, which showed that the
damsel's love of dancing made her easy to please in the matter of
partners. Her movements did not betray her apparent delicacy, but a
faint flush already tinged her white cheeks, and her complexion was
gaining color. Mademoiselle de Fontaine went nearer, to be able to
examine the young lady at the moment when she returned to her place,
while the side couples in their turn danced the figure. But the
|
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from McTeague by Frank Norris: little eggs-kursion, eh not soh? We breathe der freshes
air, a celubration, a pignic bei der seashore on. Ach, dot
wull be soh gay, ah?"
"You bet it will. It'll be outa sight," cried Marcus,
enthusiastic in an instant. "This is m' friend Doctor
McTeague I wrote you about, Mrs. Sieppe."
"Ach, der doktor," cried Mrs. Sieppe.
McTeague was presented, shaking hands gravely as Marcus
shouldered him from one to the other.
Mr. Sieppe was a little man of a military aspect, full of
importance, taking himself very seriously. He was a member
McTeague |
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 Door in the Wall, et. al. by H. G. Wells: her. I had come to the place, this city of sunny pleasures with
her, and left all those things to wreck and ruin just to save a
remnant at least of my life. While I had been in love with her
before I knew that she had any care for me, before I had imagined
that she would dare--that we should dare, all my life had seemed
vain and hollow, dust and ashes. It was dust and ashes. Night
after night and through the long days I had longed and desired--my
soul had beaten against the thing forbidden!
"But it is impossible for one man to tell another just these
things. It's emotion, it's a tint, a light that comes and goes.
Only while it's there, everything changes, everything. The thing
|
