| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Domestic Peace by Honore de Balzac: ready to ascend the throne, and Royalty is the mania of the day, I
cannot imagine that you will refuse the title of Queen of the Ball
which your beauty may claim."
"I do not intend to dance, monsieur."
The curt tone of the lady's replies was so discouraging that the
Colonel found himself compelled to raise the siege. Martial, who
guessed what the officer's last request had been, and the refusal he
had met with, began to smile, and stroked his chin, making the diamond
sparkle which he wore on his finger.
"What are you laughing at?" said the Comtesse de Vaudremont.
"At the failure of the poor Colonel, who has just put his foot in
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Eryxias by Platonic Imitator: quarrelling: so I said,--I heard that very argument used in the Lyceum
yesterday by a wise man, Prodicus of Ceos; but the audience thought that he
was talking mere nonsense, and no one could be persuaded that he was
speaking the truth. And when at last a certain talkative young gentleman
came in, and, taking his seat, began to laugh and jeer at Prodicus,
tormenting him and demanding an explanation of his argument, he gained the
ear of the audience far more than Prodicus.
Can you repeat the discourse to us? Said Erasistratus.
SOCRATES: If I can only remember it, I will. The youth began by asking
Prodicus, In what way did he think that riches were a good and in what an
evil? Prodicus answered, as you did just now, that they were a good to
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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 Land that Time Forgot by Edgar Rice Burroughs: anything have been more truly Prussian than this leave-taking of
the Baron Friedrich von Schoenvorts.
Olson, Whitely, Wilson, and I stood for a moment looking at
one another. It seemed incredible that man could be so
perfidious--that we had really seen with our own eyes the thing
that we had seen; but when we returned to the fort, the shattered
wall gave us ample evidence that there was no mistake.
Then we began to speculate as to whether it had been an ape-man
or a Prussian that had abducted Lys. From what we knew of von
Schoenvorts, we would not have been surprised at anything from
him; but the footprints by the spring seemed indisputable
The Land that Time Forgot |
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 An Historical Mystery by Honore de Balzac: are either idiotic criminals (which you do not believe) or the
innocent victims of circumstances as inexplicable to us as they are to
you. You ought rather to search for the mass of papers which were
burned at Gondreville, which will reveal motives stronger far than
yours or ours and put you on the track of the causes of this
abduction."
The speaker discussed these hypotheses with marvellous ability. He
dwelt on the moral character of the witnesses for the defence, whose
religious faith was a living one, who believed in a future life and in
eternal punishment. He rose to grandeur in this part of his speech and
moved his hearers deeply:--
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