| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Early Short Fiction of Edith Wharton by Edith Wharton: ages past and to come. There are volumes of meaning in the
tiniest emblem on the lady's cloak; the blossoms of its border
are rooted in the deepest soil of myth and tradition. Don't ask
what it means, young man, but bow your head in thankfulness for
having seen it!"
Miss Lombard laid her hand on his arm.
"Don't excite yourself, father," she said in the detached tone of
a professional nurse.
He answered with a despairing gesture. "Ah, it's easy for you to
talk. You have years and years to spend with it; I am an old
man, and every moment counts!"
|
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Bride of Lammermoor by Walter Scott: "This is poetry, Lucy," said Ravenswood; "and in poetry there is
always fallacy, and sometimes fiction."
"Believe me, then, once more, in honest prose," said Lucy,
"that, though I will never wed man without the consent of my
parents, yet neither force nor persuasion shall dispose of my
hand till you renounce the right I have given you to it."
The lovers had ample time for such explanations. Henry was now
more seldom their companion, being either a most unwilling
attendant upon the lessons of his tutor, or a forward volunteer
under the instructions of the foresters or grooms. As for the
Keeper, his mornings were spent in his study, maintaining
The Bride of Lammermoor |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from The Duchess of Padua by Oscar Wilde: DUCHESS
[wringing her hands]
For you! For you!
I did it all for you: have you forgotten?
You said there was a barrier between us;
That barrier lies now i' the upper chamber
Upset, overthrown, beaten, and battered down,
And will not part us ever.
GUIDO
No, you mistook:
Sin was the barrier, you have raised it up;
|
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 Adam Bede by George Eliot: him by the shoulder, with an air of grave remonstrance, Timothy's
Bess's Ben first kicked out vigorously, then took to his heels and
sought refuge behind his father's legs.
"Ye gallows young dog," said Sandy Jim, with some paternal pride,
"if ye donna keep that stick quiet, I'll tek it from ye. What
dy'e mane by kickin' foulks?"
"Here! Gie him here to me, Jim," said Chad Cranage; "I'll tie hirs
up an' shoe him as I do th' hosses. Well, Mester Casson," he
continued, as that personage sauntered up towards the group of
men, "how are ye t' naight? Are ye coom t' help groon? They say
folks allays groon when they're hearkenin' to th' Methodys, as if
Adam Bede |
