| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Cousin Betty by Honore de Balzac: be seen, Valerie was ere long not in a state to explain anything to
anybody.
Towards the end of May, Baron Hulot's pension was released by
Victorin's regular payment to Baron Nucingen. As everybody knows,
pensions are paid half-yearly, and only on the presentation of a
certificate that the recipient is alive: and as Hulot's residence was
unknown, the arrears unpaid on Vauvinet's demand remained to his
credit in the Treasury. Vauvinet now signed his renunciation of any
further claims, and it was still indispensable to find the pensioner
before the arrears could be drawn.
Thanks to Bianchon's care, the Baroness had recovered her health; and
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Mysterious Island by Jules Verne: had been already visited by the sea, under circumstances which are known,
and it would not do to be exposed again to a similar accident.
"Besides," added Cyrus Harding, who this day was talking of these things
with his companions, "we have some precautions to take."
"Why? The island is not inhabited," said the reporter.
"That is probable," replied the engineer, "although we have not yet
explored the interior; but if no human beings are found, I fear that
dangerous animals may abound. It is necessary to guard against a possible
attack, so that we shall not be obliged to watch every night, or to keep up
a fire. And then, my friends, we must foresee everything. We are here in a
part of the Pacific often frequented by Malay pirates--"
The Mysterious Island |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from The Exiles by Honore de Balzac: his inexperienced hearers, the impulse given to Nature by the
Almighty. Supported by many texts from the Sacred Scriptures, which he
used as a commentary on his own statements to express by concrete
images the abstract arguments he felt to be wanting, he flourished the
Spirit of God like a torch over the deep secrets of creation, with an
eloquence peculiar to himself, and accents that urged conviction on
his audience. As he unfolded his mysterious system and all its
consequences, he gave a key to every symbol and justified the
vocation, the special gifts, the genius, the talent of each human
being.
Then, instinctively becoming physiological, he remarked on the
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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 Black Beauty by Anna Sewell: motionless and watchful, he took a little stray lock of my mane
which had turned over on the wrong side, laid it over on the right,
and smoothed it down with his hand; then patting my neck, he said,
`We shall have a day of it to-day, Bayard, my beauty; but we'll do our duty
as we have done.' He stroked my neck that morning more, I think,
than he had ever done before; quietly on and on, as if he were thinking
of something else. I loved to feel his hand on my neck, and arched my crest
proudly and happily; but I stood very still, for I knew all his moods,
and when he liked me to be quiet, and when gay.
"I cannot tell all that happened on that day, but I will tell of
the last charge that we made together; it was across a valley right in front
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