| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Shadow Line by Joseph Conrad: together. I remain on deck, of course, night and
day, and the nights and the days wheel over us in
succession, whether long or short, who can say?
All sense of time is lost in the monotony of ex-
pectation, of hope, and of desire--which is only
one: Get the ship to the southward! Get the ship
to the southward! The effect is curiously me-
chanical; the sun climbs and descends, the night
swings over our heads as if somebody below the
horizon were turning a crank. It is the prettiest,
the most aimless! . . . and all through that
The Shadow Line |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Rezanov by Gertrude Atherton: soften and her mouth tremble.
"It must have been a hateful experience--hate-
ful!" Her voice, beginning on its usual low soft
note, rose to a hoarse pitch of indignation. "I
should have killed somebody! To be a man, and
strong, and caressed all one's life by fortune--and
to be as helpless as an Indian! Madre de dios!"
"I shall take my revenge," said Rezanov shortly;
but the wound closed, and once more he became
aware of the poignant sweetness of Castilian roses.
Concha wore one in her soft dusky hair, and an-
Rezanov |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Salome by Oscar Wilde: TIGELLIN. C'est un titre que prend Cesar.
HERODE. Mais Cesar ne vient pas en Judee. J'ai recu hier des
lettres de Rome. On ne m'a rien dit de cela. Enfin, vous,
Tigellin, qui avez ete e Rome pendant l'hiver, vous n'avez rien
entendu dire de cela?
TIGELLIN. En effet, Seigneur, je n'en ai pas entendu parler.
J'explique seulement le titre. C'est un des titres de Cesar.
HERODE. Il ne peut pas venir, Cesar. Il est goutteux. On dit
qu'il a des pieds d'elephant. Aussi il y a des raisons d'Etat.
Celui qui quitte Rome perd Rome. Il ne viendra pas. Mais, enfin,
c'est le maitre, Cesar. Il viendra s'il veut. Mais je ne pense pas
|
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 The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas: to Fernand, and which Fernand read in an undertone: --
"The honorable, the king's attorney, is informed by a friend
of the throne and religion, that one Edmond Dantes, mate of
the ship Pharaon, arrived this morning from Smyrna, after
having touched at Naples and Porto-Ferrajo, has been
intrusted by Murat with a letter for the usurper, and by the
usurper with a letter for the Bonapartist committee in
Paris. Proof of this crime will be found on arresting him,
for the letter will be found upon him, or at his father's,
or in his cabin on board the Pharaon."
"Very good," resumed Danglars; "now your revenge looks like
The Count of Monte Cristo |
