| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Life of the Spider by J. Henri Fabre: silk-warehouse where, in some cases, the rigging of the net, in
others, the swan's-down of the nest is manufactured. The Thomisus,
a first-class nest-builder, does like the rest: she hoards in her
abdomen, but without undue display of obesity, the wherewithal to
house her family snugly.
Can the expression onustus refer simply to her slow and sidelong
walk? The explanation appeals to me, without satisfying me fully.
Except in the case of a sudden alarm, every Spider maintains a
sober gait and a wary pace. When all is said, the scientific term
is composed of a misconception and a worthless epithet. How
difficult it is to name animals rationally! Let us be indulgent to
The Life of the Spider |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Nana, Miller's Daughter, Captain Burle, Death of Olivier Becaille by Emile Zola: she went upstairs, dizzy with her day in the open air and
intoxicated by the scent of green leaves, and rejoined her Zizi
behind the curtain, she fancied herself a schoolgirl enjoying a
holiday escapade. It was an amour, she thought, with a young cousin
to whom she was going to be married. And so she trembled at the
slightest noise and dread lest parents should hear her, while making
the delicious experiments and suffering the voluptuous terrors
attendant on a girl's first slip from the path of virtue.
Nana in those days was subject to the fancies a sentimental girl
will indulge in. She would gaze at the moon for hours. One night
she had a mind to go down into the garden with Georges when all the
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| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from The Lesser Bourgeoisie by Honore de Balzac: drunk freely, Cerizet said to him:--
"Will you sign me bills of exchange for fifty thousand francs in your
capacity as a barrister?"
"You couldn't get five thousand on them."
"That's not your affair, but ours; I mean monsieur's here, who is
giving us this dinner, and mine, in a matter where you risk nothing,
but in which you'll get your title as barrister, a fine practice, and
the hand in marriage of a girl about the age of an old dog, and rich
by twenty or thirty thousand francs a year. Neither Dutocq nor I can
marry her; but we'll equip you, give you the look of a decent man,
feed and lodge you, and set you up generally. Consequently, we want
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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 Dreams by Olive Schreiner: wine and fed their little children with it, and men held up the cup to
women's lips and cried, "Beloved! drink," and women filled their lovers'
flagons and held them up; and yet the feast went on.
And after a while I looked, and I saw the curtain that hung behind the
house moving.
I said to God, "Is it a wind?"
God said, "A wind."
And it seemed to me, that against the curtain I saw pressed the forms of
men and women. And after a while the feasters saw it move, and they
whispered, one to another. Then some rose and gathered the most worn-out
cups, and into them they put what was left at the bottom of other vessels.
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