| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Kreutzer Sonata by Leo Tolstoy: become bold enough to interfere in affairs that are not your
own."
"Mishinka," she persisted, "I have had a frightful dream
concerning you. You had better let the moujiks go."
"Yes," said he; "I perceive that you have gained so much flesh of
late that you think you would not feel the whip. Lookout!"
Rudely thrusting his hot pipe against her cheek, Michael chased
his wife from the room, after which he ordered his dinner. After
eating a hearty meal consisting of cabbage-soup, roast pig,
meat-cake, pastry with milk, jelly, sweet cakes, and vodki, he
called his woman cook to him and ordered her to be seated and
The Kreutzer Sonata |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Polity of Athenians and Lacedaemonians by Xenophon: state throughout the length and breadth of Hellas? [During these
festivals, of course, the transaction of any sort of affairs of state
is still more out of the question.][4] In the next place, only
consider the number of cases they have to decide--what with private
suits and public causes and scrutinies of accounts, etc., more than
the whole of the rest of mankind put together; while the senate has
multifarious points to advise upon concerning peace and war,[5]
concerning ways and means, concerning the framing and passing of
laws,[6] and concerning the thousand and one matters affecting the
state perpetually occurring, and endless questions touching the
allies; besides the receipt of the tribute, the superintendence of
|
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Lady Windermere's Fan by Oscar Wilde: all right.
LADY WINDERMERE. Come back to me? [C.]
DUCHESS OF BERWICK. [L.C.] Yes, dear, these wicked women get our
husbands away from us, but they always come back, slightly damaged,
of course. And don't make scenes, men hate them!
LADY WINDERMERE. It is very kind of you, Duchess, to come and tell
me all this. But I can't believe that my husband is untrue to me.
DUCHESS OF BERWICK. Pretty child! I was like that once. Now I
know that all men are monsters. [LADY WINDERMERE rings bell.] The
only thing to do is to feed the wretches well. A good cook does
wonders, and that I know you have. My dear Margaret, you are not
|
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 Bride of Lammermoor by Walter Scott: above mentioned; and having intimated that he would not be averse
to compound the same for goods or money, if it was inconvenient
to them to pay in kind, left them, as he hoped, to debate the
mode of assessing themselves for that purpose. On the contrary,
they met with a determined purpose of resisting the exaction, and
were only undecided as to the mode of grounding their
opposition, when the cooper, a very important person on a
fishing-station, and one of the conscript fathers of the village,
observed, "That their hens had caickled mony a day for the Lords
of Ravenswood, and it was time they suld caickle for those that
gave them roosts and barley." An unanimous grin intimated the
The Bride of Lammermoor |
