| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Happy Prince and Other Tales by Oscar Wilde: catch gold-fish in their beaks; of the Sphinx, who is as old as the
world itself, and lives in the desert, and knows everything; of the
merchants, who walk slowly by the side of their camels, and carry
amber beads in their hands; of the King of the Mountains of the
Moon, who is as black as ebony, and worships a large crystal; of
the great green snake that sleeps in a palm-tree, and has twenty
priests to feed it with honey-cakes; and of the pygmies who sail
over a big lake on large flat leaves, and are always at war with
the butterflies.
"Dear little Swallow," said the Prince, "you tell me of marvellous
things, but more marvellous than anything is the suffering of men
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Resurrection by Leo Tolstoy: Recalling the monstrous confusion of the life we lead, he
distinctly saw what that life could be if men were brought up to
obey these rules, and rapture such as he had long not felt filled
his soul, just as if after long days of weariness and suffering
he had suddenly found ease and freedom.
He did not sleep all night, and as it happens to many and many a
man who reads the Gospels he understood for the first time the
full meaning of the words read so often before but passed by
unnoticed. He imbibed all these necessary, important and joyful
revelations as a sponge imbibes water. And all he read seemed so
familiar and seemed to confirm, to form into a conception, what
Resurrection |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from The Secrets of the Princesse de Cadignan by Honore de Balzac: and the terror of displeasing,--a situation which a young woman does
not comprehend when she shares it, but which the princess had too
often deliberately produced not to enjoy its pleasures. In fact, Diane
enjoyed these delightful juvenilities all the more keenly because she
knew that she could put an end to them at any moment. She was like a
great artist delighting in the vague, undecided lines of his sketch,
knowing well that in a moment of inspiration he can complete the
masterpiece still waiting to come to birth. Many a time, seeing
d'Arthez on the point of advancing, she enjoyed stopping him short,
with an imposing air and manner. She drove back the hidden storms of
that still young heart, raised them again, and stilled them with a
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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 The Devil's Dictionary by Ambrose Bierce: but not well enough to lend to. A degree of friendship called slight
when its object is poor or obscure, and intimate when he is rich or
famous.
ACTUALLY, adv. Perhaps; possibly.
ADAGE, n. Boned wisdom for weak teeth.
ADAMANT, n. A mineral frequently found beneath a corset. Soluble in
solicitate of gold.
ADDER, n. A species of snake. So called from its habit of adding
funeral outlays to the other expenses of living.
ADHERENT, n. A follower who has not yet obtained all that he expects
to get.
The Devil's Dictionary |
