| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas: angle of the interior wall. "No, monsieur, it is impossible;
I can go no farther."
"What does this mean?" demanded the irresistible voice of
Monte Cristo.
"Why, you must see, your excellency," cried the steward,
"that this is not natural; that, having a house to purchase,
you purchase it exactly at Auteuil, and that, purchasing it
at Auteuil, this house should be No. 28, Rue de la Fontaine.
Oh, why did I not tell you all? I am sure you would not have
forced me to come. I hoped your house would have been some
other one than this; as if there was not another house at
The Count of Monte Cristo |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Salammbo by Gustave Flaubert: the majestic maiden who was bending over towards him.
He was perhaps ten years old, and was not taller than a Roman sword.
His curly hair shaded his swelling forehead. His eyeballs looked as if
they were seeking for space. The nostrils of his delicate nose were
broad and palpitating, and upon his whole person was displayed the
indefinable splendour of those who are destined to great enterprises.
When he had cast aside his extremely heavy cloak, he remained clad in
a lynx skin, which was fastened about his waist, and he rested his
little naked feet, which were all white with dust, resolutely upon the
pavement. But he no doubt divined that important matters were under
discussion, for he stood motionless, with one hand behind his back,
Salammbo |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Phaedrus by Plato: intruding upon him; there is the same old withered face and the remainder
to match--and he is always repeating, in season or out of season, the
praises or dispraises of his beloved, which are bad enough when he is
sober, and published all over the world when he is drunk. At length his
love ceases; he is converted into an enemy, and the spectacle may be seen
of the lover running away from the beloved, who pursues him with vain
reproaches, and demands his reward which the other refuses to pay. Too
late the beloved learns, after all his pains and disagreeables, that 'As
wolves love lambs so lovers love their loves.' (Compare Char.) Here is
the end; the 'other' or 'non-lover' part of the speech had better be
understood, for if in the censure of the lover Socrates has broken out in
|
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 Dead Souls by Nikolai Vasilievich Gogol: clean-shavenness that no one but a blind man could have failed to
admire their rounded contours.
From that moment onwards great changes took place in Tientietnikov's
establishment, and certain of its rooms assumed an unwonted air of
cleanliness and order. The rooms in question were those assigned to
Chichikov, while one other apartment--a little front chamber opening
into the hall--became permeated with Petrushka's own peculiar smell.
But this lasted only for a little while, for presently Petrushka was
transferred to the servants' quarters, a course which ought to have
been adopted in the first instance.
During the initial days of Chichikov's sojourn, Tientietnikov feared
Dead Souls |
