| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Tom Grogan by F. Hopkinson Smith: man."
"No; but the sluggers will. There was five men 'p'inted to-day to
do up the scabs an' the kickers who won't go out. They near
killed him once in Newark for kickin'. It was that time, you
know, when Katie was first took bad."
"Do ye know their names?" said Tom, her eyes flashing.
"No, an' me man don't. He's new, an' they dar'sn't trust him. It
was in the back room, he says, they picked 'em out."
Tom stood for some moments in deep thought, gazing at the fire,
her arms akimbo. Then, wheeling suddenly, she opened the door of
the sitting-room, and said in a firm, resolute voice:--
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Hiero by Xenophon: ever the kind of things which subjects do to please the monarch,[5]
and thus they treat each hero of the moment, whom they strive to
honour.[6]
[1] Lit. "that human beings will abide all risks and undergo all pains
to clutch the bait."
[2] Cf. "Cyrop." II. iii. 8; VIII. i. 29.
[3] Cf. "Mem." II. iii. 16; "Cyrop." VII. v. 20.
[4] {gerairosi}, poetic. Cf. "Cyrop." VIII. i. 39; "Hell." I. vii. 33;
"Econ." iv. 8; "Herod." v. 67; Pind. "O." iii. 3, v. 11; "N." v.
15; "Od." xiv. 437, 441; "Il." vii. 321; Plat. "Rep." 468 D,
quoting "Il." vii. 321.
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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 The Firm of Nucingen by Honore de Balzac: The Government Clerks
A Distinguished Provincial at Paris
Scenes from a Courtesan's Life
A Man of Business
The Middle Classes
Falleix, Martin
The Government Clerks
Finot, Andoche
Cesar Birotteau
A Bachelor's Establishment
A Distinguished Provincial at Paris
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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 Gambara by Honore de Balzac: beautiful song in E major, with its wonderful harmonic and melodic
progression in the words:
"Car dans les cieux, comme sur la terre,
Sa mere va prier pour lui.
"Here the struggle begins between the unseen powers and the only human
being who has the fire of hell in his veins to enable him to resist
them; and to make this quite clear, as Bertram comes on, the great
musician has given the orchestra a passage introducing a reminiscence
of Raimbaut's ballad. What a stroke of art! What cohesion of all the
parts! What solidity of structure!
"The devil is there, in hiding, but restless. The conflict of the
Gambara |
