| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Barlaam and Ioasaph by St. John of Damascus: bodily enjoyments, but suffer their souls to waste with hunger,
and to be worn with myriad ills, these I consider to be like a
man flying before the face of a rampant unicorn, who, unable to
endure the sound of the beast's cry, and its terrible bellowing,
to avoid being devoured, ran away at full speed. But while he
ran hastily, he fell into a great pit; and as he fell, he
stretched forth his hands, and laid hold on a tree, to which he
held tightly. There he established some sort of foot-hold and
thought himself from that moment in peace and safety. But he
looked and descried two mice, the one white, the other black,
that never ceased to gnaw the root of the tree whereon he hung,
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Hidden Masterpiece by Honore de Balzac: times magnetic glances of anger or enthusiasm. The face in other
respects was singularly withered and worn by the weariness of old age,
and still more, it would seem, by the action of thoughts which had
undermined both soul and body. The eyes had lost their lashes, and the
eyebrows were scarcely traced along the projecting arches where they
belonged. Imagine such a head upon a lean and feeble body, surround it
with lace of dazzling whiteness worked in meshes like a fish-slice,
festoon the black velvet doublet of the old man with a heavy gold
chain, and you will have a faint idea of the exterior of this strange
individual, to whose appearance the dusky light of the landing lent
fantastic coloring. You might have thought that a canvas of Rembrandt
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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 Father Goriot by Honore de Balzac: sprang to their eyes. Rastignac held out his hand and grasped
Goriot's warmly.
"Well, what is all this about? Are you not my children?"
"Oh! my poor father," said Mme. de Nucingen, "how did you do
it?"
"Ah! now you ask me. When I made up my mind to move him nearer to
you, and saw you buying things as if they were wedding presents,
I said to myself, 'She will never be able to pay for them.' The
attorney says that those law proceedings will last quite six
months before your husband can be made to disgorge your fortune.
Well and good. I sold out my property in the funds that brought
Father Goriot |
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 Troll Garden and Selected Stories by Willa Cather: floor. Even that part of the room which lay in the shadow was
vaguely illuminated; the piano, the tall candlesticks, the
picture frames and white casts standing out as clearly in the
half-light as did the sycamores and black poplars of the garden
against the still, expectant night sky. Caroline sat
down to think it all over. She had come here to do just that
every day of the two weeks since d'Esquerre's departure, but,
far from ever having reached a conclusion, she had succeeded
only in losing her way in a maze of memories--sometimes
bewilderingly confused, sometimes too acutely distinct--where
there was neither path, nor clue, nor any hope of finality. She
The Troll Garden and Selected Stories |
