| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from An Historical Mystery by Honore de Balzac: "The skin is rubbed off under your chin," said Corentin quickly.
"I think," said the corporal, "that a rope did go over my face."
"I have it!" cried Corentin; "somebody tied a rope from tree to tree
to bar the way."
"Like enough," replied the corporal.
Corentin went downstairs to the kitchen.
"Come, you old rascal," Michu was saying to Violette, "let's make an
end of this. One hundred thousand francs for the place, and you are
master of my whole property. I shall retire on my income."
"I tell you, as there's a God in heaven, I haven't more than sixty
thousand."
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Confidence by Henry James: departure.
On waking up the next morning, rather late, he found, however, that it
had attached itself to a very different object. His vision was filled
with the brightness of the delightful fact itself, which seemed
to impregnate the sweet morning air and to flutter in the light,
fresh breeze that came through his open window from the sea.
He saw a great patch of the sea between a couple of red-tiled roofs;
it was bluer than any sea had ever been before. He had not slept long--
only three or four hours; but he had quite slept off his dread.
The shadow had dropped away and nothing was left but the beauty
of his love, which seemed to shine in the freshness of the early day.
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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 'Twixt Land & Sea by Joseph Conrad: coffee-tray, she took alarm, glided towards the piano, opened it in
tremendous haste, and struck the keys before she sat down.
In an instant the verandah, the whole carpetless wooden bungalow
raised on piles, became filled with an uproarious, confused
resonance. But through it all she heard, she felt on the floor the
heavy, prowling footsteps of the lieutenant moving to and fro at
her back. He was not exactly drunk, but he was sufficiently primed
to make the suggestions of his excited imagination seem perfectly
feasible and even clever; beautifully, unscrupulously clever.
Freya, aware that he had stopped just behind her, went on playing
without turning her head. She played with spirit, brilliantly, a
'Twixt Land & Sea |
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 From the Earth to the Moon by Jules Verne: produced a most singular effect.
It will be remembered that on their third meeting the committee
had decided to use cast iron for the Columbiad, and in particular
the white description. This metal, in fact, is the most
tenacious, the most ductile, and the most malleable, and
consequently suitable for all moulding operations; and when
smelted with pit coal, is of superior quality for all
engineering works requiring great resisting power, such as
cannon, steam boilers, hydraulic presses, and the like.
Cast iron, however, if subjected to only one single fusion,
is rarely sufficiently homogeneous; and it requires a second
From the Earth to the Moon |
