| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare: Enter Theseus, Egeus, Hippolita and all his traine.
Thes. Goe one of you, finde out the Forrester,
For now our obseruation is perform'd;
And since we haue the vaward of the day,
My Loue shall heare the musicke of my hounds.
Vncouple in the Westerne valley, let them goe;
Dispatch I say, and finde the Forrester.
We will faire Queene, vp to the Mountains top,
And marke the musicall confusion
Of hounds and eccho in coniunction
Hip. I was with Hercules and Cadmus once.
A Midsummer Night's Dream |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Ball at Sceaux by Honore de Balzac: happier than many fathers, he was also appreciated by his family, all
its members having a just esteem for the solid qualities by which he
had been able to make their fortunes. Hence he was treated with the
deep respect which is shown by English families, and some aristocratic
houses on the continent, to the living representatives of an ancient
pedigree. Deep silence had fallen; and the guests looked alternately
from the spoilt girl's proud and sulky pout to the severe faces of
Monsieur and Madame de Fontaine.
"I have made my daughter Emilie mistress of her own fate," was the
reply spoken by the Count in a deep voice.
Relations and guests gazed at Mademoiselle de Fontaine with mingled
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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 Flower Fables by Louisa May Alcott: So he flew down into the field below, and hastened busily from
flower to flower, till he had filled a tiny blue-bell with sweet,
fresh honey. Then he stole softly to the hive, and, placing it near
the door, concealed himself to watch. Soon his friend Nimble-Wing
came flying home, and when he spied the little cup, he hummed with
joy, and called his companions around him.
"Surely, some good Elf has placed it here for us," said they; "let us
bear it to our Queen; it is so fresh and fragrant it will be a fit
gift for her"; and they joyfully took it in, little dreaming who had
placed it there.
So each day Thistle filled a flower-cup, and laid it at the door;
Flower Fables |
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 Eugenie Grandet by Honore de Balzac: a fringe of ashes, from the bottom of which the coffee-grounds were
bubbling up and falling in the boiling liquid.
"It is boiled coffee," said Nanon.
"Ah! my dear aunt, I shall at least leave one beneficent trace of my
visit here. You are indeed behind the age! I must teach you to make
good coffee in a Chaptal coffee-pot."
He tried to explain the process of a Chaptal coffee-pot.
"Gracious! if there are so many things as all that to do," said Nanon,
"we may as well give up our lives to it. I shall never make coffee
that way; I know that! Pray, who is to get the fodder for the cow
while I make the coffee?"
Eugenie Grandet |
