| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Economist by Xenophon: of courage.
[24] {edasato}, "Cyrop." IV. ii. 43.
[25] Cf. "Hipparch," vii. 7; Aristot. "Pol." iii. 2; "Oecon." iii.
"And seeing that both alike feel the need of giving and receiving, He
set down memory and carefulness between them for their common use,[26]
so that you would find it hard to determine which of the two, the male
or the female, has the larger share of these. So, too, God set down
between them for their common use the gift of self-control, where
needed, adding only to that one of the twain, whether man or woman,
which should prove the better, the power to be rewarded with a larger
share of this perfection. And for the very reason that their natures
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Around the World in 80 Days by Jules Verne: Whether she would find a protector in him she could not tell;
but Mr. Fogg essayed to calm her anxieties, and to assure her that
everything would be mathematically--he used the very word--arranged.
Aouda fastened her great eyes, "clear as thee sacred lakes of the Himalaya,"
upon him; but the intractable Fogg, as reserved as ever, did not seem
at all inclined to throw himself into this lake.
The first few days of the voyage passed prosperously, amid favourable
weather and propitious winds, and they soon came in sight of
the great Andaman, the principal of the islands in the Bay of Bengal,
with its picturesque Saddle Peak, two thousand four hundred feet high,
looming above the waters. The steamer passed along near the shores,
Around the World in 80 Days |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Confidence by Henry James: a good thing to know. I suppose Gordon will say that I ought
to be too proud to point that out; but what are you to do
when no one has any imagination? You have a grain or two,
Mr. Longueville; but Captain Lovelock has n't a speck.
As for Gordon, je n'en parle pas! But even you, Mr. Longueville,
would never imagine that I am an interesting invalid--
that we are travelling for my delicate health. The doctors
have n't given me up, but I have given them up. I know I
don't look as if I were out of health; but that 's because I
always try to look my best. My appearance proves nothing--
absolutely nothing. Do you think my appearance proves anything,
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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: epithet infernal: an orgy of knights in Sicily. In that chorus in F
every human passion is unchained in a bacchanalian /allegro/. Every
thread by which the devil holds us is pulled. Yes, that is the sort of
glee that comes over men when they dance on the edge of a precipice;
they make themselves giddy. What /go/ there is in that chorus!
"Against that chorus--the reality of life--the simple life of every-
day virtue stands out in the air, in G minor, sung by Raimbaut. For a
moment it refreshed my spirit to hear the simple fellow,
representative of verdurous and fruitful Normandy, which he brings to
Robert's mind in the midst of his drunkenness. The sweet influence of
his beloved native land lends a touch of tender color to this gloomy
Gambara |
