| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Unseen World and Other Essays by John Fiske: and a cigarette of Turkish tobacco between his lips, and sets
himself to the task of listening with a grave air of
collectedness, relieved by a certain touch of suspicious
severity, as becomes the arbiter in a literary and philosophic
matter." "And so," begins our author, "you wish to know, my dear
Theophilus, WHERE I LOCATE GOD? I locate him in the centre of the
universe, or, in better phrase, at the central focus, which must
exist somewhere, of all the stars that make the universe, and
which, borne onward in a common movement, gravitate together
around this focus."
Much more, of an equally scientific character, follows; but in
The Unseen World and Other Essays |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Tapestried Chamber by Walter Scott: of a stranger's visit, when, leaving the vicinity of the park, he
rolled through a clean and well-paved street, and stopped at the
door of a well-frequented inn.
Before ordering horses, to proceed on his journey, General Browne
made inquiries concerning the proprietor of the chateau which had
so attracted his admiration, and was equally surprised and
pleased at hearing in reply a nobleman named, whom we shall call
Lord Woodville. How fortunate! Much of Browne's early
recollections, both at school and at college, had been connected
with young Woodville, whom, by a few questions, he now
ascertained to be the same with the owner of this fair domain.
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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 Dynamiter by Robert Louis Stevenson and Fanny Van De Grift Stevenson: still dream, at times, that I can hear the note of my
neighbour's bird.
'My money was running out, and it became necessary that I
should find employment. Scarcely had I been three days upon
the search, ere I thought that I was being followed. I made
certain of the features of the man, which were quite strange
to me, and turned into a small cafe, where I whiled away an
hour, pretending to read the papers, but inwardly convulsed
with terror. When I came forth again into the street, it was
quite empty, and I breathed again; but alas, I had not turned
three corners, when I once more observed the human hound
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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: history of their woes, and Marianna told it, making no complaints of
God or men.
"Madame," said Gambara, as she ended, for he was sober, "we are
victims of our own superiority. My music is good. But as soon as music
transcends feeling and becomes an idea, only persons of genius should
be the hearers, for they alone are capable of responding to it! It is
my misfortune that I have heard the chorus of angels, and believed
that men could understand the strains. The same thing happens to women
when their love assumes a divine aspect: men cannot understand them."
This speech was well worth the forty francs bestowed by Massimilla;
she took out a second gold piece, and told Marianna she would write to
Gambara |
