| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Symposium by Plato: peacemaker of gods and men, working by a knowledge of the religious or
irreligious tendencies which exist in human loves. Such is the great and
mighty, or rather omnipotent force of love in general. And the love, more
especially, which is concerned with the good, and which is perfected in
company with temperance and justice, whether among gods or men, has the
greatest power, and is the source of all our happiness and harmony, and
makes us friends with the gods who are above us, and with one another. I
dare say that I too have omitted several things which might be said in
praise of Love, but this was not intentional, and you, Aristophanes, may
now supply the omission or take some other line of commendation; for I
perceive that you are rid of the hiccough.
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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 Lesser Bourgeoisie by Honore de Balzac: old maid, who would strongly have resented any signs of activity in
her sister-in-law, now took a savage pleasure in prodding the languid
inertness of the feeble creature. Celeste, ashamed to see her sister-
in-law displaying such energy in household work, endeavored to help
her, and fell ill in consequence. Instantly, Brigitte was devoted to
her, nursed her like a beloved sister, and would say, in presence of
Thuillier: "You haven't any strength, my child; you must never do
anything again." She showed up Celeste's incapacity by that display of
sympathy with which strength, seeming to pity weakness, finds means to
boast of its own powers.
But, as all despotic natures liking to exercise their strength are
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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 Scenes from a Courtesan's Life by Honore de Balzac: Armenian beauty. Esther would have carried off the prize at the
Seraglio; she had the thirty points harmoniously combined. Far from
having damaged the finish of her modeling and the freshness of her
flesh, her strange life had given her the mysterious charm of
womanhood; it is no longer the close, waxy texture of green fruit and
not yet the warm glow of maturity; there is still the scent of the
flower. A few days longer spent in dissolute living, and she would
have been too fat. This abundant health, this perfection of the animal
in a being in whom voluptuousness took the place of thought, must be a
remarkable fact in the eyes of physiologists. A circumstance so rare,
that it may be called impossible in very young girls, was that her
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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 The Duchesse de Langeais by Honore de Balzac: their interview a searching glance, and met the dark, inscrutable
gaze of an aged recluse. The Mother might have been a century
old, but the bright, youthful eyes belied the wrinkles that
furrowed her pale face.
"Mme la Duchesse," he began, his voice shaken with emotion,
"does your companion understand French?" The veiled figure
bowed her head at the sound of his voice.
"There is no duchess here," she replied. "It is Sister
Theresa whom you see before you. She whom you call my companion
is my mother in God, my superior here on earth."
The words were so meekly spoken by the voice that sounded in
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