| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Resurrection by Leo Tolstoy: of her detestable power was noticeable in her face and the whole
of her figure. All who met or passed that woman looked at her.
Nekhludoff walked faster than she did and, involuntarily, also
looked her in the face. The face, which was probably painted, was
handsome, and the woman looked at him with a smile and her eyes
sparkled. And, curiously enough, Nekhludoff was suddenly reminded
of Mariette, because he again felt both attracted and disgusted
just as when in the theatre.
Having hurriedly passed her, Nekhludoff turned off on to the
Morskaya, and passed on to the embankment, where, to the surprise
of a policeman, he began pacing up and down the pavement.
Resurrection |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from McTeague by Frank Norris: me. Three whiskey punches, Joe."
"No, no," answered McTeague, shaking his head. "I'm going
back home. I've had two glasses of whiskey already."
"Sha!" cried Heise, catching his arm. "A strapping big chap
like you ain't afraid of a little whiskey."
"Well, I--I--I got to go right afterwards," protested
McTeague.
About half an hour after the dentist had left to go down
town, Maria Macapa had come in to see Trina. Occasionally
Maria dropped in on Trina in this fashion and spent an hour
or so chatting with her while she worked. At first Trina
McTeague |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from The Ball at Sceaux by Honore de Balzac: lookers-on were beginning to weary of it; admiration is always
exhausting to human beings. The old Vendeen knew better than any one
that if there is an art in choosing the right moment for coming
forward on the boards of the world, on those of the Court, in a
drawing-room or on the stage, it is still more difficult to quit them
in the nick of time. So during the first winter after the accession of
Charles X., he redoubled his efforts, seconded by his three sons and
his sons-in-law, to assemble in the rooms of his official residence
the best matches which Paris and the various deputations from
departments could offer. The splendor of his entertainments, the
luxury of his dining-room, and his dinners, fragrant with truffles,
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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 Two Poets by Honore de Balzac: confined the heart and brain of her poet that the said poet determined
to try an experiment upon her. He wished to feel certain that this
proud conquest was his without laying himself open to the
mortification of a rebuff. The forthcoming soiree gave him his
opportunity. Ambition blended with his love. He loved, and he meant to
rise, a double desire not unnatural in young men with a heart to
satisfy and the battle of life to fight. Society, summoning all her
children to one banquet, arouses ambition in the very morning of life.
Youth is robbed of its charm, and generous thoughts are corrupted by
mercenary scheming. The idealist would fain have it otherwise, but
intrusive fact too often gives the lie to the fiction which we should
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