| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Lay Morals by Robert Louis Stevenson: reverence for Shakespeare in a neat antithesis, and fell foul
of the Almighty Himself, on the score of one or two out of
the ten commandments. Nothing escaped his blighting censure.
At every sentence he overthrew an idol, or lowered my
estimation of a friend. I saw everything with new eyes, and
could only marvel at my former blindness. How was it
possible that I had not before observed A's false hair, B's
selfishness, or C's boorish manners? I and my companion,
methought, walked the streets like a couple of gods among a
swarm of vermin; for every one we saw seemed to bear openly
upon his brow the mark of the apocalyptic beast. I half
|
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Twilight Land by Howard Pyle: The boat ran up on the beach close to just such a stone mill as
the prince had seen upon the other side of the water, and then he
and the queen stepped ashore. As soon as they had done so the
brazen boat floated swiftly away, and in a little while was gone.
"Here our journey ends," said the queen. "Is it not a wonderful
land, and well worth the seeing? Look at all these jewels and
this gold, as plenty as fruits and flowers at home. :You may take
what you please; but while you are gathering them I have another
matter after which I must look. Wait for me here, and by-and-by I
will be back again."
So saying, she turned and left the prince, going towards the
|
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Youth by Joseph Conrad: night, heaving and setting on the swell. The men dozed,
waked, sighed, groaned. I looked at the burning ship.
"Between the darkness of earth and heaven she was
burning fiercely upon a disc of purple sea shot by the
blood-red play of gleams; upon a disc of water glitter-
ing and sinister. A high, clear flame, an immense and
lonely flame, ascended from the ocean, and from its sum-
mit the black smoke poured continuously at the sky. She
burned furiously, mournful and imposing like a funeral
pile kindled in the night, surrounded by the sea, watched
over by the stars. A magnificent death had come like a
Youth |
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 Maitre Cornelius by Honore de Balzac: a low voice, "is a priest, a friend of mine, who will tell him that he
drew you for safety out of the crowd, and placed you under his own
protection in this chapel. Therefore, everything is arranged to
deceive him."
At these words the tears of the poor woman stopped, but an expression
of sadness settled down on her face.
"No one can deceive him," she said. "To-night he will know all. Save
me from his blows! Go to Plessis, see the king, tell him--" she
hesitated; then, some dreadful recollection giving her courage to
confess the secrets of her marriage, she added: "Yes, tell him that to
master me the count bleeds me in both arms--to exhaust me. Tell him
|
