| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Tess of the d'Urbervilles, A Pure Woman by Thomas Hardy: there must be a week's postponement, and that was
unlucky. How could she remind her lover? She who had
been so backward was suddenly fired with impatience and
alarm lest she should lose her dear prize.
A natural incident relieved her anxiety. Izz mentioned
the omission of the banns to Mrs Crick, and Mrs Crick
assumed a matron's privilege of speaking to Angel on
the point.
"Have ye forgot 'em, Mr Clare? The banns, I mean."
"No, I have not forgot 'em," says Clare.
As soon as he caught Tess alone he assured her:
Tess of the d'Urbervilles, A Pure Woman |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from At the Sign of the Cat & Racket by Honore de Balzac: thought his future parents amiable. He was not above enlivening them
by a few jests in the best taste. So he too pleased every one. In the
evening, when the drawing-room, furnished with what Madame Guillaume
called "everything handsome," was deserted, and while she flitted from
the table to the chimney-piece, from the candelabra to the tall
candlesticks, hastily blowing out the wax-lights, the worthy draper,
who was always clear-sighted when money was in question, called
Augustine to him, and seating her on his knee, spoke as follows:--
"My dear child, you shall marry your Sommervieux since you insist; you
may, if you like, risk your capital in happiness. But I am not going
to be hoodwinked by the thirty thousand francs to be made by spoiling
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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 The Village Rector by Honore de Balzac: personalities of no interest to her. She was often surprised at the
heat displayed in discussions which concerned no feeling or sentiment
--to her the essence of existence, the soul of life.
Often she was seen with fixed eyes, mentally absorbed, thinking no
doubt of the days of her youthful ignorance spent in that chamber full
of harmonies now forever passed away. She felt a horrible repugnance
against dropping into the gulf of pettiness in which the women among
whom she lived were floundering. This repugnance, stamped on her
forehead, on her lips, and ill-disguised, was taken for the insolence
of a parvenue. Madame Graslin began to observe on all faces a certain
coldness; she felt in all remarks an acrimony, the causes of which
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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 Salome by Oscar Wilde: pourpre et d'ecarlate. Dans sa main il portera un vase d'or plein
de ses blasphemes. Et l'ange du Seigneur Dieu le frappera. Il sera
mange des vers.
HERODIAS. Vous entendez ce qu'il dit de vous. Il dit que vous
serez mange des vers.
HERODE. Ce n'est pas de moi qu'il parle. Il ne dit jamais rien
contre moi. C'est du roi de Cappadoce qu'il parle, du roi de
Cappadoce qui est mon ennemi. C'est celui-le qui sera mange des
vers. Ce n'est pas moi. Jamais il n'a rien dit contre moi, le
prophete, sauf que j'ai eu tort de prendre comme epouse l'epouse de
mon frere. Peut-etre a-t-il raison. En effet, vous etes sterile.
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