| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from On Revenues by Xenophon: which exist; and again, on the same principle, suitable places of
meeting for merchants, for the purposes[25] of buying and selling; and
thirdly, public lodging-houses for persons visiting the city. Again,
supposing dwelling-houses and stores for vending goods were fitted up
for retail dealers in Piraeus and the city, they would at once be an
ornament to the state and a fertile source of revenue. Also it seems
to me it would be a good thing to try and see if, on the principle on
which at present the state possesses public warships, it would not be
possible to secure public merchant vessels, to be let out on the
security of guarantors just like any other public property. If the
plan were found feasible this public merchant navy would be a large
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Scenes from a Courtesan's Life by Honore de Balzac: to the Conciergerie as soon as Lucien de Rubempre could be brought
from Fontainebleau.
As the Abbe Carlos had spent but twelve hours in La Force, and Lucien
only half a night, it is useless to describe that prison, which has
since been entirely remodeled; and as to the details of their
consignment, it would be only a repetition of the same story at the
Conciergerie.
But before setting forth the terrible drama of a criminal inquiry, it
is indispensable, as I have said, that an account should be given of
the ordinary proceedings in a case of this kind. To begin with, its
various phases will be better understood at home and abroad, and,
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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 Betty Zane by Zane Grey: among educated and cultured people. He had passed several years in the
backwoods. But with all his experience with people he had to confess that this
young woman was as a revelation to him. She could ride like an Indian and
shoot like a hunter. He had heard that she could run almost as swiftly as her
brothers. Evidently she feared nothing, for he had just seen an example of her
courage in a deed that had tried even his own nerve, and, withal, she was a
bright, happy girl, earnest and true, possessing all the softer graces of his
sisters, and that exquisite touch of feminine delicacy and refinement which
appeals more to men than any other virtue.
"Have you not met Mr. Miller before he came here from Fort Pitt?" asked Betty.
"Why do you ask?"
Betty Zane |
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 Scenes from a Courtesan's Life by Honore de Balzac: miniature in this letter, for I cannot bear that it should be
stolen or sold. The mere thought that what has been my great joy
may lie behind a shop window, mixed up with the ladies and
officers of the Empire, or a parcel of Chinese absurdities, is a
small death to me. Destroy that picture, my sweetheart, wipe it
out, never give it to any one--unless, indeed, the gift might win
back the heart of that walking, well-dressed maypole, that
Clotilde de Grandlieu, who will make you black and blue in her
sleep, her bones are so sharp.--Yes, to that I consent, and then I
shall still be of some use to you, as when I was alive. Oh! to
give you pleasure, or only to make you laugh, I would have stood
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