| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Study of a Woman by Honore de Balzac: insolence far surpassed that of other men which the marquise had ended
by overlooking. At first she thought of keeping the letter; but on
second thoughts she burned it.
"Madame had just received such a fine love-letter; and she read it,"
said Caroline to the housemaid.
"I should never have thought that of madame," replied the other, quite
surprised.
That evening Madame de Listomere went to a party at the Marquis de
Beauseant's, where Rastignac would probably betake himself. It was
Saturday. The Marquis de Beauseant was in some way a connection of
Monsieur de Rastignac, and the young man was not likely to miss
|
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from My Aunt Margaret's Mirror by Walter Scott: Last week, when, late in a summer evening, I went to call on the
old lady to whom my reader is now introduced, I was received by
her with all her usual affection and benignity, while, at the
same time, she seemed abstracted and disposed to silence. I
asked her the reason. "They have been clearing out the old
chapel," she said; "John Clayhudgeons having, it seems,
discovered that the stuff within--being, I suppose, the remains
of our ancestors--was excellent for top-dressing the meadows."
Here I started up with more alacrity than I have displayed for
some years; but sat down while my aunt added, laying her hand
upon my sleeve, "The chapel has been long considered as common
|
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Pathology of Lying, Etc. by William and Mary Healy: quiet and industrious. After many adventures he fell into the
hands of the law and was adjudged insane. Most interesting was
the fact that he discussed intelligently his career. ``My
capacity for considering my thoughts as something really carried
out in life is unfortunately too great to permit my having full
conception of the boundary between appearance and reality.''
The family history of the above case included swindling,
hysteria, and epilepsy. His fabricating tendency first reached
its height at 14 years, thus showing the influence of puberty.
Wendt regarded the etiological factors as family degeneracy, a
wish-complex which in activity amounted to autosuggestion, double
|
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 Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain: "Well, for the land's sake! I never heard the beat
of that in all my days! Don't tell ME there ain't
anything in dreams, any more. Sereny Harper shall
know of this before I'm an hour older. I'd like to see
her get around THIS with her rubbage 'bout superstition.
Go on, Tom!"
"Oh, it's all getting just as bright as day, now.
Next you said I warn't BAD, only mischeevous and
harum-scarum, and not any more responsible than --
than -- I think it was a colt, or something."
"And so it was! Well, goodness gracious! Go on,
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer |
