| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Message by Honore de Balzac: of a very serious love affair. Picture to yourselves a young man
of middle height, but very well proportioned, a bright,
expressive face, dark hair, blue eyes, moist lips, and white and
even teeth. A certain not unbecoming pallor still overspread his
delicately cut features, and there were faint dark circles about
his eyes, as if he were recovering from an illness. Add,
furthermore, that he had white and shapely hands, of which he was
as careful as a pretty woman should be; add that he seemed to be
very well informed, and was decidedly clever, and it should not
be difficult for you to imagine that my traveling companion was
more than worthy of a countess. Indeed, many a girl might have
|
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Fantastic Fables by Ambrose Bierce: while I make notes of it.
"'The autumn leaves were falling, falling,'
"Go on."
"What!" said the poet, "do you expect me to reproduce the entire
poem from memory?"
"Only the substance of it - just the leading facts. We will add
whatever is necessary in the way of amplification and
embellishment. It will detain you but a moment.
"'The autumn leaves were falling, falling - '
"Now, then."
There was a sound of a slow getting up and going away. The
Fantastic Fables |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Amy Foster by Joseph Conrad: this silent encounter fairly staggered him. He had
admitted since (for the story has been a legitimate
subject of conversation about here for years) that
he made more than one step backwards. Then a
sudden burst of rapid, senseless speech persuaded
him at once that he had to do with an escaped luna-
tic. In fact, that impression never wore off com-
pletely. Smith has not in his heart given up his
secret conviction of the man's essential insanity to
this very day.
"As the creature approached him, jabbering in
Amy Foster |
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 At the Earth's Core by Edgar Rice Burroughs: but within the dense shadows all seemed dark and gloomy
as the grave.
And upon all the noonday sun poured its torrid rays
out of a cloudless sky.
"Where on earth can we be?" I asked, turning to Perry.
For some moments the old man did not reply. He stood
with bowed head, buried in deep thought. But at last
he spoke.
"David," he said, "I am not so sure that we are ON earth."
"What do you mean Perry?" I cried. "Do you think that we
are dead, and this is heaven?" He smiled, and turning,
At the Earth's Core |
