| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Juana by Honore de Balzac: from active life Diard was held captive in his home by the softest
chains. He lived, almost in spite of himself, under the influence of
his wife, who made herself gay and amusing to cheer him, who used the
resources of feminine genius to attract and seduce him to a love of
virtue, but whose ability and cleverness did not go so far as to
simulate love.
At this time all Paris was talking of the affair of a captain in the
army who in a paroxysm of libertine jealousy had killed a woman.
Diard, on coming home to dinner, told his wife that the officer was
dead. He had killed himself to avoid the dishonor of a trial and the
shame of death upon the scaffold. Juana did not see at first the logic
|
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 Master and Man by Leo Tolstoy: 'Follow me!' he said, going in front of the horse.
Vasili Andreevich no longer gave orders but implicitly did what
Nikita told him.
'Here, follow me!' Nikita shouted, stepping quickly to the
right, and seizing the rein he led Mukhorty down towards a
snow-drift.
At first the horse held back, then he jerked forward, hoping to
leap the drift, but he had not the strength and sank into it up
to his collar.
'Get out!' Nikita called to Vasili Andreevich who still sat in
the sledge, and taking hold of one shaft he moved the sledge
Master and Man |
