| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from A Hero of Our Time by M.Y. Lermontov: and golden that we -- that is, the staff-captain
and I -- forgot all about the cloud. . . Yes, the
staff-captain too; in simple hearts the feeling
for the beauty and grandeur of nature is a
hundred-fold stronger and more vivid than in
us, ecstatic composers of narratives in words and
on paper.
"You have grown accustomed, I suppose, to
these magnificent pictures!" I said.
"Yes, sir, you can even grow accustomed to
the whistling of a bullet, that is to say, accus-
|
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Louis Lambert by Honore de Balzac: woes had taught me many a chant of sorrow far more appealing than the
finest passages in "Werther." And, indeed, there is no possible
comparison between the pangs of a passion condemned, whether rightly
or wrongly, by every law, and the grief of a poor child pining for the
glorious sunshine, the dews of the valley, and liberty. Werther is the
slave of desire; Louis Lambert was an enslaved soul. Given equal
talent, the more pathetic sorrow, founded on desires which, being
purer, are the more genuine, must transcend the wail even of genius.
After sitting for a long time with his eyes fixed on a lime-tree in
the playground, Louis would say just a word; but that word would
reveal an infinite speculation.
Louis Lambert |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Gettysburg Address by Abraham Lincoln: Inaugural Address of President Kennedy, officially on
November 22, 1993, on the day of the 30th anniversary
of his assassination.
Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, given November 19, 1863
on the battlefield near Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, USA
#STARTMARK#
Four score and seven years ago, our fathers brought forth
upon this continent a new nation: conceived in liberty, and
dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.
Now we are engaged in a great civil war. . .testing whether
that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated. . .
|
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 Commission in Lunacy by Honore de Balzac: "Those rooms would just suit me," said he to himself as he reached
home. "If M. d'Espard leaves them, I will take up his lease."
The next day, at about ten in the morning, Popinot, who had written
out his report the previous evening, made his way to the Palais de
Justice, intending to have prompt and righteous justice done. As he
went to the robing-room to put on his gown and bands, the usher told
him that the President of his Court begged him to attend in his
private room, where he was waiting for him. Popinot forthwith obeyed.
"Good-morning, my dear Popinot," said the President, "I have been
waiting for you."
"Why, Monsieur le President, is anything wrong?"
|
