| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Deputy of Arcis by Honore de Balzac: settled everything. Monsieur de Sallenauve will, at any cost,
disappear from our path, and therefore why discuss the degree of
kindness one might have shown him?"
"But," said Madame de Camps, "since I must tell you all, I have come
to think him a dangerous acquaintance,--less for you than for some one
else."
"Who?" asked Madame de l'Estorade.
"Nais. That child, with her passion for her 'preserver,' makes me
really uneasy."
"Oh!" said the countess, smiling rather sadly, "are you not giving too
much importance to childish nonsense?"
|
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from A Tramp Abroad by Mark Twain: "Have you ever heard about that man who put up at Gadsby's,
once? ... But I see you haven't."
He backed Mr. Lykins against an iron fence, buttonholed him,
fastened him with his eye, like the Ancient Mariner,
and proceeded to unfold his narrative as placidly
and peacefully as if we were all stretched comfortably
in a blossomy summer meadow instead of being persecuted
by a wintry midnight tempest:
"I will tell you about that man. It was in Jackson's time.
Gadsby's was the principal hotel, then. Well, this man
arrived from Tennessee about nine o'clock, one morning,
|
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from The Economist by Xenophon: between man and man."
[5] For this sense of {tous egkheirountas} cf. Thuc. iv. 121; "Hell."
IV. v. 16. Al. {dedesthai tous egkheirountas kai thanatousthai en
tis alo poion} (Weiske), "let the attempt be punished with
imprisonment"; "let him who is caught in the act be put to death."
[6] Cf. Plat. "Laws," 754 E.
[7] Or, "the royal laws," i.e. of Persia. Cf. "Anab." I. ix. 16;
"Cyrop." I. ii. 2, 3. Or possibly = "regal"; cf. Plat. "Minos,"
317 C; {to men orthon nomos esti basilikos}.
[8] Lit. "benefited."
[9] Lit. "Whereby, beholding the just becoming wealthier than the
|
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 Lost Princess of Oz by L. Frank Baum: "How do you know?" asked Scraps.
"Everyone says so," answered the High Coco-Lorum.
"Have you seen the Herkus yourself?"inquired Dorothy.
"No, but what everyone says must be true, otherwise what would be the
use of their saying it?"
"We were told before we got here that you people hitch dragons to your
chariots," said the little girl.
"So we do," declared the High Coco-Lorum. "And that reminds me that I
ought to entertain you as strangers and my guests by taking you for a
ride around our splendid City of Thi." He touched a button, and a
band began to play. At least, they heard the music of a band, but
The Lost Princess of Oz |
