| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Vendetta by Honore de Balzac: to their souls the enchanting lights and shadows of their passion.
Together, uniting their steps as they did their souls, they roamed
about the country, finding everywhere their love,--in the flowers, in
the sky, in the glowing tints of the setting sun; they read it in even
the capricious vapors which met and struggled in the ether. Each day
resembled in nothing its predecessors; their love increased, and still
increased, because it was a true love. They had tested each other in
what seemed only a short time; and, instinctively, they recognized
that their souls were of a kind whose inexhaustible riches promised
for the future unceasing joys.
Theirs was love in all its artlessness, with its interminable
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Modeste Mignon by Honore de Balzac: of life; he cannot breathe existence into his creations; but he knows
how to calm vague sufferings like those which assailed Modeste. He
speaks to young girls in their own language; he can allay the anguish
of a bleeding wound and lull the moans, even the sobs of woe. His gift
lies not in stirring words, nor in the remedy of strong emotions, he
contents himself with saying in harmonious tones which compel belief,
"I suffer with you; I understand you; come with me; let us weep
together beside the brook, beneath the willows." And they follow him!
They listen to his empty and sonorous poetry like infants to a nurse's
lullaby. Canalis, like Nodier, enchants the reader by an artlessness
which is genuine in the prose writer and artificial in the poet, by
Modeste Mignon |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Charmides and Other Poems by Oscar Wilde: And held his hand, and sang her sweetest song,
Then frowned to see how froward was the boy
Who would not with her maidenhood entwine,
Nor knew that three days since his eyes had looked on Proserpine;
Nor knew what sacrilege his lips had done,
But said, 'He will awake, I know him well,
He will awake at evening when the sun
Hangs his red shield on Corinth's citadel;
This sleep is but a cruel treachery
To make me love him more, and in some cavern of the sea
Deeper than ever falls the fisher's line
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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 Daisy Miller by Henry James: them vaguely, he himself must have been more brightly visible.
He felt angry with himself that he had bothered so much about
the right way of regarding Miss Daisy Miller. Then, as he was going
to advance again, he checked himself, not from the fear that he was doing
her injustice, but from a sense of the danger of appearing unbecomingly
exhilarated by this sudden revulsion from cautious criticism.
He turned away toward the entrance of the place, but, as he did so,
he heard Daisy speak again.
"Why, it was Mr. Winterbourne! He saw me, and he cuts me!"
What a clever little reprobate she was, and how smartly she played
at injured innocence! But he wouldn't cut her. Winterbourne came
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