| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Shakespeare's Sonnets by William Shakespeare: On whom frown'st thou that I do fawn upon,
Nay, if thou lour'st on me, do I not spend
Revenge upon myself with present moan?
What merit do I in my self respect,
That is so proud thy service to despise,
When all my best doth worship thy defect,
Commanded by the motion of thine eyes?
But, love, hate on, for now I know thy mind,;
Those that can see thou lov'st, and I am blind.
CL
O! from what power hast thou this powerful might,
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from A Daughter of Eve by Honore de Balzac: "I will certainly go to the ball," said the countess.
"You will be very much amused," replied Vandenesse. "With such weapons
in hand you can cut Nathan's complacency to the quick, and you will
also do him a great service. You will put him in a fury; he'll try to
be calm, though inwardly fuming; but, all the same, you will enlighten
a man of talent as to the peril in which he really stands; and you
will also have the satisfaction of laming the horses of the 'juste-
milieu' in their stalls-- But you are not listening to me, my dear."
"On the contrary, I am listening intently," she said. "I will tell you
later why I feel desirous to know the truth of all this."
"You shall know it," said Vandenesse. "If you stay masked I will take
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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 Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Bronte Sisters: you will ask nothing about it, for your curiosity will not be
gratified,' replied she, attempting to cover the tartness of her
rebuke with a smile; but I could see, by her flushed cheek and
kindling eye, that she was seriously annoyed.
'I was only going to ask if you had painted it yourself,' said I,
sulkily resigning the picture into her hands; for without a grain
of ceremony she took it from me; and quickly restoring it to the
dark corner, with its face to the wall, placed the other against it
as before, and then turned to me and laughed.
But I was in no humour for jesting. I carelessly turned to the
window, and stood looking out upon the desolate garden, leaving her
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall |
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 Lay Morals by Robert Louis Stevenson: cold, shivering, dark old age, that's like a winter's
morning'; and he bitterly shuddered, spreading his hands
before the fire.
'Come now,' said Nance, 'the more you say the less you'll
like it, Uncle Jonathan; but if I were you I would be proud
for to have lived all your days honest and beloved, and come
near the end with your good name: isn't that a fine thing to
be proud of? Mr. Archer was telling me in some strange land
they used to run races each with a lighted candle, and the
art was to keep the candle burning. Well, now, I thought
that was like life: a man's good conscience is the flame he
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