| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Edingburgh Picturesque Notes by Robert Louis Stevenson: clothe the eternal rock and yesterday's imitation
portico; and as the soft northern sunshine throws out
everything into a glorified distinctness - or easterly
mists, coming up with the blue evening, fuse all these
incongruous features into one, and the lamps begin to
glitter along the street, and faint lights to burn in the
high windows across the valley - the feeling grows upon
you that this also is a piece of nature in the most
intimate sense; that this profusion of eccentricities,
this dream in masonry and living rock, is not a drop-
scene in a theatre, but a city in the world of every-day
|
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Alkahest by Honore de Balzac: first Madame Claes did not think it necessary to inquire the cause.
One night her husband went to bed with a mind so preoccupied that she
felt it incumbent on her to respect his mood. Her womanly delicacy and
her submissive habits always led her to wait for Balthazar's
confidence; which, indeed, was assured to her by so constant an
affection that she had never had the slightest opening for jealousy.
Though certain of obtaining an answer whenever she should make the
inquiry, she still retained enough of the earlier impressions of her
life to dread a refusal. Besides, the moral malady of her husband had
its phases, and only came by slow degrees to the intolerable point at
which it destroyed the happiness of the family.
|
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Vailima Letters by Robert Louis Stevenson: kid leading a band of lions. A.M.)
The A.M. being done, I go on again. All this made it very
possible that even if none of our boys had stolen the pig,
some of them might know the thief. Besides, the theft, as it
was a theft of meat prepared for a guest, had something of
the nature of an insult, and 'my face,' in native phrase,
'was ashamed.' Accordingly, we determined to hold a bed of
justice. It was done last night after dinner. I sat at the
head of the table, Graham on my right hand, Henry Simele at
my left, Lloyd behind him. The house company sat on the
floor around the walls - twelve all told. I am described as
|
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 Water-Babies by Charles Kingsley: and then took a bite, and were content, just as so many oysters
would have been.
They needed no weapons, for no enemies ever came near their land;
and no tools, for everything was readymade to their hand; and the
stern old fairy Necessity never came near them to hunt them up, and
make them use their wits, or die.
And so on, and so on, and so on, till there were never such
comfortable, easy-going, happy-go-lucky people in the world.
"Well, that is a jolly life," said Tom.
"You think so?" said the fairy. "Do you see that great peaked
mountain there behind," said the fairy, "with smoke coming out of
|
