| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Chouans by Honore de Balzac: friendliness and freedom as he had been with her reserve. In fact, he
was so annoyed by it that he regretted, with a sort of dumb anger,
having allowed her to breakfast with them.
"Madame," said Mademoiselle de Verneuil, "is your son always as gloomy
as he is at this moment?"
"Mademoiselle," he replied, "I ask myself what is the good of a
fleeting happiness. The secret of my gloom is the evanescence of my
pleasure."
"That is a madrigal," she said, laughing, "which rings of the Court
rather than the Polytechnique."
"My son only expressed a very natural thought, mademoiselle," said
The Chouans |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Adventure by Jack London: with this adventure tom-foolery and rot. I don't like it. Tudor
is a sample of the adventure-kind--picking a quarrel with me and
behaving like a monkey, insisting on fighting with me--'to the
death,' he said. It was like a penny dreadful."
She was biting her lip, and though her eyes were cool and level-
looking as ever, the tell-tale angry red was in her cheeks.
"Of course, if you don't want to marry me--"
"But I do," he hastily interposed.
"Oh, you do--"
"But don't you see, little girl, I want you to love me," he hurried
on. "Otherwise, it would be only half a marriage. I don't want
|
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Hamlet by William Shakespeare: Our indiscretion sometimes serues vs well,
When our deare plots do paule, and that should teach vs,
There's a Diuinity that shapes our ends,
Rough-hew them how we will
Hor. That is most certaine
Ham. Vp from my Cabin
My sea-gowne scarft about me in the darke,
Grop'd I to finde out them; had my desire,
Finger'd their Packet, and in fine, withdrew
To mine owne roome againe, making so bold,
(My feares forgetting manners) to vnseale
Hamlet |
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 Life and Adventures of Santa Claus by L. Frank Baum: The Woodsman, as was his habit when in thought, stroked his grizzled
beard slowly. Then he said:
"She shall keep the babe, and I will give it my protection. But I
warn you all that as this is the first time I have relaxed the Law, so
shall it be the last time. Never more, to the end of the World, shall
a mortal be adopted by an immortal. Otherwise would we abandon our
happy existence for one of trouble and anxiety. Good night, my nymphs!"
Then Ak was gone from their midst, and Necile hurried away to her
bower to rejoice over her new-found treasure.
4. Claus
Another day found Necile's bower the most popular place in the Forest.
The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus |
