| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from A Simple Soul by Gustave Flaubert: They associated in her mind, the parrot becoming sanctified through
the neighbourhood of the Holy Ghost, and the latter becoming more
lifelike in her eyes, and more comprehensible. In all probability the
Father had never chosen as messenger a dove, as the latter has no
voice, but rather one of Loulou's ancestors. And Felicite said her
prayers in front of the coloured picture, though from time to time she
turned slightly towards the bird.
She desired very much to enter in the ranks of the "Daughters of the
Virgin." But Madame Aubain dissuaded her from it.
A most important event occurred: Paul's marriage.
After being first a notary's clerk, then in business, then in the
 A Simple Soul |
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 On Revenues by Xenophon: of you may be calculating that the capital[40] requisite will be
enormous. They may doubt if a sufficient sum will ever be subscribed
to meet all the needs. All I can say is, even so, do not dispond. It
is not as if it were necessary that every feature of the scheme should
be carried out at once, or else there is to be no advantage in it at
all. On the contrary, whatever number of houses are erected, or ships
are built, or slaves purchased, etc., these portions will begin to pay
at once. In fact, the bit-by-bit method of proceeding will be more
advantageous than a simultaneous carrying into effect of the whole
plan, to this extent: if we set about erecting buildings wholesale[41]
we shall make a more expensive and worse job of it than if we finish
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