| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Herodias by Gustave Flaubert: been the property of his father, and he had allowed them to remain
untouched. As he spoke, he managed to get in advance of the proconsul
and preceded him along the corridors with rapid steps. Presently he
halted and stood close against the wall as the party came up; he spoke
quickly, standing with his hands on his hips, so that his voluminous
mantle covered a wide space of the wall behind him. But just above his
head the top of a door was visible. Vitellius remarked it instantly,
and demanded to know what it concealed.
The tetrarch explained that the door was fastened, and that none could
open it save the Babylonian, Jacim.
"Summon him, then!" was the command.
Herodias |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Emma by Jane Austen: as soon as possible. Never had the exquisite sight, smell,
sensation of nature, tranquil, warm, and brilliant after a storm,
been more attractive to her. She longed for the serenity they might
gradually introduce; and on Mr. Perry's coming in soon after dinner,
with a disengaged hour to give her father, she lost no time ill
hurrying into the shrubbery.--There, with spirits freshened,
and thoughts a little relieved, she had taken a few turns, when she
saw Mr. Knightley passing through the garden door, and coming
towards her.--It was the first intimation of his being returned
from London. She had been thinking of him the moment before,
as unquestionably sixteen miles distant.--There was time only for
Emma |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Seraphita by Honore de Balzac: sun to the earth, and if he gazed throughout eternity, his eyes could
not reach the horizon, nor find an end. Light alone can give an idea
of the joys of heaven. 'It is,' says Swedenborg ('Angelic Wisdom,' 7,
25, 26, 27), 'a vapor of the virtue of God, a pure emanation of His
splendor, beside which our greatest brilliance is obscurity. It can
compass all; it can renew all, and is never absorbed: it environs the
Angel and unites him to God by infinite joys which multiply infinitely
of themselves. This Light destroys whosoever is not prepared to
receive it. No one here below, nor yet in Heaven can see God and live.
This is the meaning of the saying (Exodus xix. 12, 13, 21-23) "Take
heed to yourselves that ye go not up into the mount--lest ye break
Seraphita |
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 Four Arthurian Romances by Chretien DeTroyes: nights, as well as every day, to earn the more, for they threaten
to do us injury, when we seek some rest, so we do not dare to
rest ourselves. But why should I tell you more? We are so
shamefully treated and insulted that I cannot tell you the fifth
part of it all. But what makes us almost wild with rage is that
we very often see rich and excellent knights, who fight with the
two devils, lose their lives on our account. They pay dearly for
the lodging they receive, as you will do to-morrow. For, whether
you wish to do so or not, you will have to fight singlehanded and
lose your fair renown with these two devils." "May God, the true
and spiritual, protect me," said my lord Yvain, "and give you
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