| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Love and Friendship by Jane Austen: surely neither you or the fair Henrietta herself will deny me the
exquisite Gratification of dieing for her, of falling a victim to
her Charms. And when I am dead"--continued her--
"Oh Lady Scudamore, said I wiping my eyes, that such a sweet
Creature should talk of dieing!"
"It is an affecting Circumstance indeed, replied Lady Scudamore."
"When I am dead said he, let me be carried and lain at her feet,
and perhaps she may not disdain to drop a pitying tear on my poor
remains."
"Dear Lady Scudamore interrupted I, say no more on this affecting
subject. I cannot bear it."
Love and Friendship |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald: "but you've got something on now that Walter's afraid to tell me
about."
I glanced at Daisy, who was staring terrified between Gatsby
and her husband, and at Jordan, who had begun to balance an invisible
but absorbing object on the tip of her chin. Then I turned back to
Gatsby--and was startled at his expression. He looked--and this is said
in all contempt for the babbled slander of his garden--as if he had
"killed a man." For a moment the set of his face could be described in
just that fantastic way.
It passed, and he began to talk excitedly to Daisy, denying everything,
defending his name against accusations that had not been made. But with
The Great Gatsby |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from The Alkahest by Honore de Balzac: The chief ornament of the facade was an oaken door, in two sections,
studded with nails driven in the pattern of a quineunx, in the centre
of which the Claes pride had carved a pair of shuttles. The recess of
the doorway, which was built of freestone, was topped by a pointed
arch bearing a little shrine surmounted by a cross, in which was a
statuette of Sainte-Genevieve plying her distaff. Though time had left
its mark upon the delicate workmanship of portal and shrine, the
extreme care taken of it by the servants of the house allowed the
passers-by to note all its details.
The casing of the door, formed by fluted pilasters, was dark gray in
color, and so highly polished that it shone as if varnished. On either
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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 Cousin Betty by Honore de Balzac: "Then it was she who told you about the candle in the window?"
"My good man," replied Crevel, striking an attitude, "she has fooled
us both. Valerie is a--She told me to keep you here.--Now I see it
all. She has got her Brazilian!--Oh, I have done with her, for if you
hold her hands, she would find a way to cheat you with her feet!
There! she is a minx, a jade!"
"She is lower than a prostitute," said the Baron. "Josepha and Jenny
Cadine were in their rights when they were false to us; they make a
trade of their charms."
"But she, who affects the saint--the prude!" said Crevel. "I tell you
what, Hulot, do you go back to your wife; your money matters are not
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