| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Augsburg Confession by Philip Melanchthon: forbids marriage. This may now be readily understood when the
law against marriage is maintained by such penalties.
But as no law of man can annul the commandment of God, so
neither can it be done by any vow. Accordingly, Cyprian also
advises that women who do not keep the chastity they have
promised should marry. His words are these (Book I, Epistle XI
): But if they be unwilling or unable to persevere, it is
better for them to marry than to fall into the fire by their
lusts; they should certainly give no offense to their brethren
and sisters.
And even the Canons show some leniency toward those who have
|
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne: peculiar voice.
This vocal organ was in itself a rich endowment, insomuch that a
listener, comprehending nothing of the language in which the
preacher spoke, might still have been swayed to and fro by the
mere tone and cadence. Like all other music, it breathed passion
and pathos, and emotions high or tender, in a tongue native to
the human heart, wherever educated. Muffled as the sound was by
its passage through the church walls, Hester Prynne listened with
such intenseness, and sympathized so intimately, that the sermon
had throughout a meaning for her, entirely apart from its
The Scarlet Letter |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Lord Arthur Savile's Crime, etc. by Oscar Wilde: possibility of his deriving any vulgar monetary advantage by her
death. In fact, the more he thought over the matter, the more she
seemed to him to be just the right person, and, feeling that any
delay would be unfair to Sybil, he determined to make his
arrangements at once.
The first thing to be done was, of course, to settle with the
cheiromantist; so he sat down at a small Sheraton writing-table
that stood near the window, drew a cheque for 105 pounds, payable
to the order of Mr. Septimus Podgers, and, enclosing it in an
envelope, told his valet to take it to West Moon Street. He then
telephoned to the stables for his hansom, and dressed to go out.
|
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 She Stoops to Conquer by Oliver Goldsmith: tete-a-tetes. She has been saying a hundred tender things, and setting
off her pretty monster as the very pink of perfection.
MISS HARDCASTLE. And her partiality is such, that she actually thinks
him so. A fortune like yours is no small temptation. Besides, as she
has the sole management of it, I'm not surprised to see her unwilling
to let it go out of the family.
MISS NEVILLE. A fortune like mine, which chiefly consists in jewels,
is no such mighty temptation. But at any rate, if my dear Hastings be
but constant, I make no doubt to be too hard for her at last. However,
I let her suppose that I am in love with her son; and she never once
dreams that my affections are fixed upon another.
She Stoops to Conquer |
