| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Caesar's Commentaries in Latin by Julius Caesar: factum sit ad Magetobrigam, superbe et crudeliter imperare, obsides
nobilissimi cuiusque liberos poscere et in eos omnia exempla cruciatusque
edere, si qua res non ad nutum aut ad voluntatem eius facta sit. Hominem
esse barbarum, iracundum, temerarium: non posse eius imperia, diutius
sustineri. Nisi quid in Caesare populoque Romano sit auxilii, omnibus
Gallis idem esse faciendum quod Helvetii fecerint, ut domo emigrent, aliud
domicilium, alias sedes, remotas a Germanis, petant fortunamque,
quaecumque accidat, experiantur. Haec si enuntiata Ariovisto sint, non
dubitare quin de omnibus obsidibus qui apud eum sint gravissimum
supplicium sumat. Caesarem vel auctoritate sua atque exercitus vel
recenti victoria vel nomine populi Romani deterrere posse ne maior
|
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Muse of the Department by Honore de Balzac: the two poems /Paquita la Sevillane/ and /Le Chene de la Messe/; three
sonnets, a description of the Cathedral and the House of Jacques Coeur
at Bourges, with a tale called /Carola/, published as the work he was
engaged on at the time of his death, constituted the whole of these
literary remains; and the poet's last hours, full of misery and
despair, could not fail to wring the hearts of the feeling public of
the Nievre, the Bourbonnais, the Cher, and the Morvan, where he died
near Chateau-Chinon, unknown to all, even to the woman he had loved!
Of this little yellow paper volume two hundred copies were printed;
one hundred and fifty were sold--about fifty in each department. This
average of tender and poetic souls in three departments of France is
The Muse of the Department |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas: a thought; but not a step, not an action, not a fault, has
escaped me, while you flattered yourself upon your address,
and firmly believed you had deceived me. What has been the
result? -- that, thanks to my pretended ignorance, there is
none of your friends, from M. de Villefort to M. Debray, who
has not trembled before me. There is not one who has not
treated me as the master of the house, -- the only title I
desire with respect to you; there is not one, in fact, who
would have dared to speak of me as I have spoken of them
this day. I will allow you to make me hateful, but I will
prevent your rendering me ridiculous, and, above all, I
The Count of Monte Cristo |
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 The Lone Star Ranger by Zane Grey: was identical to what it would have been had he been this
particular hunted man. He held his breath; he clenched his
teeth; he pressed a quieting hand upon his horse. Suddenly he
became aware that these horsemen had halted. They were
whispering. He could just make out a dark group closely massed.
What had made them halt so suspiciously?
"You're wrong, Bill," said a man, in a low but distinct voice.
"The idee of hearin' a hoss heave. You're wuss'n a ranger. And
you're hell-bent on killin' that rustler. Now I say let's go
home and eat."
"Wal, I'll just take a look at the sand," replied the man
The Lone Star Ranger |
