| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Lock and Key Library by Julian Hawthorne, Ed.: punished because an officer had been reprimanded? These are
familiar examples of vicarious vengeance. When the soul is stung
to fury, it must solace itself by the discharge of that fury--it
must relieve its pain by the sight of pain in others. We are so
constituted. We need sympathy above all things. In joy we cannot
bear to see others in distress; in distress we see the joy of
others with dismal envy which sharpens our pain. That is human
nature."
"And," I exclaimed, carried away by my indignation, "you suppose
that the sight of these two happy girls, beaming with the quiet joy
of brides, was torture to some miserable wretch who had lost his
|
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Albert Savarus by Honore de Balzac: he wishes to bear the arms of the Savarons of Savarus, he must add a
bar-sinister. There is no one left of the Brabant family but a
Mademoiselle de Savarus, a rich heiress, and unmarried."
"The bar-sinister is, of course, the badge of a bastard; but the
bastard of a Comte de Savarus is noble," answered Rosalie.
"Enough, that will do, mademoiselle!" said the Baroness.
"You insisted on her learning heraldry," said Monsieur de Watteville,
"and she knows it very well."
"Go on, I beg, Monsieur de Soulas."
"You may suppose that in a town where everything is classified, known,
pigeon-holed, ticketed, and numbered, as in Besancon, Albert Savaron
Albert Savarus |
