| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Mansion by Henry van Dyke: upon the stones. Dimly through the trouble of his mind he felt
their
hardness and coldness.
"Tell me, then," he cried, brokenly, "since my life has been so
little worth, how came I here at all?"
"Through the mercy of the King"--the answer was like the soft
tolling of
a bell.
"And how have I earned it?" he murmured.
"It is never earned; it is only given," came the clear, low
reply.
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Sarrasine by Honore de Balzac: "Sarrasine came to Paris to seek a refuge against the threats of a
father's malediction. Having one of those strong wills which know no
obstacles, he obeyed the behests of his genius and entered
Bouchardon's studio. He worked all day and went about at night begging
for subsistence. Bouchardon, marveling at the young artist's
intelligence and rapid progress, soon divined his pupil's destitute
condition; he assisted him, became attached to him, and treated him
like his own child. Then, when Sarrasine's genius stood revealed in
one of those works wherein future talent contends with the
effervescence of youth, the generous Bouchardon tried to restore him
to the old attorney's good graces. The paternal wrath subsided in face
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