| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from A Prince of Bohemia by Honore de Balzac: " 'Go,' he answered, with the gesture and attitude of a Mirabeau,
'tell your master in what condition you find me.'
"The assistant apologized and withdrew. La Palferine, seeing the young
man on the landing, rose in the attire celebrated in verse in
/Britannicus/ to add, 'Remark the stairs! Pay particular attention to
the stairs; do not forget to tell him about the stairs!'
"In every position into which chance has thrown La Palferine, he has
never failed to rise to the occasion. All that he does is witty and
never in bad taste; always and in everything he displays the genius of
Rivarol, the polished subtlety of the old French noble. It was he who
told that delicious anecdote of a friend of Laffitte the banker. A
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Polity of Athenians and Lacedaemonians by Xenophon: whose fame is irreproachable, or he shall feel on his back the blows
of his superiors. Such being the weight of infamy which is laid upon
all cowards, I, for my part, am not surprised if in Sparta they deem
death preferable to a life so steeped in dishonour and reproach.
[2] See Lucian, "Anacharsis," 38; Muller, "Dorians," (vol. ii. 309,
Eng. tr.)
[3] The {khoroi}, e.g. of the Gymnopaedia. See Muller, op. cit. iv. 6,
4 (vol. ii. 334, Eng. tr.)
[4] {tes anandrias}, cf. Plut. "Ages." 30; or, {tes anandreias}, "they
must bear the reproach of his cowardice."
[5] Omitting {ou}, or translate, "that is an evil not to be
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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 Montezuma's Daughter by H. Rider Haggard: will try to make my way to the City of Pines. There, among your
own people, we may find refuge.'
'So be it, beloved,' she answered, smiling sadly. 'But I do not
know how the Otomie will receive me, who have led twenty thousand
of their bravest men to a dreadful death.'
Now we were on the deck of the brigantine and must stop talking,
and thence, after the Spaniards had quarrelled over us a while, we
were taken ashore and led to the top of a house which still stood,
where Cortes had made ready hurriedly to receive his royal
prisoner. Surrounded by his escort, the Spanish general stood, cap
in hand, and by his side was Marina, grown more lovely than before,
Montezuma's Daughter |
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 Pathology of Lying, Etc. by William and Mary Healy: trying to kill her and obtained a verdict against him. Then she
attempted the same with another uncle who, however, maintained an
alibi. After this her role changed, for her mother summoned
people to see her daughter lying with a wreath around her head,
brought by an angel, with a scroll on which was inscribed
``Corona Martyri.'' The church now took her part and she toured
the country as a sort of saint. Later she returned to her former
tactics, she set fire to a house, cut off a cow's udder, and
accused her former lover of these deeds. Now for the first time
it went badly with her. She was finally imprisoned for life on
account of attempts to poison people.
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