| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Rezanov by Gertrude Atherton: spoken to you, I suppose."
"She had almost given me a rose this morning,
when Rezanov, who was flattering the good Dona
Ignacia with a moment of his attention, turned too
soon. I might have been air. She looked straight
through me. Such eyes! Such teeth! Such a form!
She is the most enchanting girl I have ever seen.
And he will monopolize her without troubling to
notice whether we even admire her or not. Pray
heaven he does not break her heart."
"He is honorable. One must admit that, if he
Rezanov |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Democracy In America, Volume 2 by Alexis de Toqueville: ever carry on the vast multitude of lesser undertakings which the
American citizens perform every day, with the assistance of the
principle of association? It is easy to foresee that the time is
drawing near when man will be less and less able to produce, of
himself alone, the commonest necessaries of life. The task of
the governing power will therefore perpetually increase, and its
very efforts will extend it every day. The more it stands in the
place of associations, the more will individuals, losing the
notion of combining together, require its assistance: these are
causes and effects which unceasingly engender each other. Will
the administration of the country ultimately assume 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 Alexandria and her Schools by Charles Kingsley: philosophy, like that of Plutarch, contains as an integral element, a
belief which to him would have been, I fear, simply ludicrous, from its
strange analogy with the belief of John, the Christian Apostle. What is
Marcus Aurelius's cardinal doctrine? That there is a God within him, a
Word, a Logos, which "has hold of him," and who is his teacher and
guardian; that over and above his body and his soul, he has a Reason
which is capable of "hearing that Divine Word, and obeying the monitions
of that God." What is Plutarch's cardinal doctrine? That the same
Word, the Daemon who spoke to the heart of Socrates, is speaking to him
and to every philosopher; "coming into contact," he says, "with him in
some wonderful manner; addressing the reason of those who, like
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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 A Simple Soul by Gustave Flaubert: everything was gone! The places occupied by the pictures formed yellow
squares on the walls. They had taken the two little beds, and the
wardrobe had been emptied of Virginia's belongings! Felicite went
upstairs, overcome with grief.
The following day a sign was posted on the door; the chemist screamed
in her ear that the house was for sale.
For a moment she tottered, and had to sit down.
What hurt her most was to give up her room,--so nice for poor Loulou!
She looked at him in despair and implored the Holy Ghost, and it was
this way that she contracted the idolatrous habit of saying her
prayers kneeling in front of the bird. Sometimes the sun fell through
A Simple Soul |
