| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Divine Comedy (translated by H.F. Cary) by Dante Alighieri: accompanies the original of this work, and is descriptive of its
plan, this old man is said to be Moses.
E'l vecchio, ch' era dietro a tutti loro
Fu Moyse.
And the old man, who was behind them all,
Was Moses.
See No. 3459 of the Harl. MSS. in the British Museum.
CANTO XXX
v. 1. The polar light.] The seven candlesticks.
v. 12. Come.] Song of Solomon, c. iv. 8.
v. 19. Blessed.] Matt. c. xxi. 9.
The Divine Comedy (translated by H.F. Cary) |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Chouans by Honore de Balzac: "Oh! if Corentin is at the bottom of all this, nothing surprises me,"
she cried, with a gesture of disgust.
The commandant went his way without daring to look at Mademoiselle de
Verneuil, whose dangerous beauty began to affect him.
"If I had stayed two minutes longer I should have committed the folly
of taking back my sword and escorting her," he was saying to himself
as he went down the stairs.
As Madame du Gua watched the young man, whose eyes were fixed on the
door through which Mademoiselle de Verneuil had passed, she said to
him in a low voice: "You are incorrigible. You will perish through a
woman. A doll can make you forget everything. Why did you allow her to
The Chouans |
