| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from The Life of the Spider by J. Henri Fabre: that has been constructed during the night. Owing to their
hygrometrical nature, the sticky threads are laden with tiny drops,
and, bending under the burden, have become so many catenaries, so
many chaplets of limpid gems, graceful chaplets arranged in
exquisite order and following the curve of a swing. If the sun
pierce the mist, the whole lights up with iridescent fires and
becomes a resplendent cluster of diamonds. The number e is in its
glory.
Geometry, that is to say, the science of harmony in space, presides
over everything. We find it in the arrangement of the scales of a
fir-cone, as in the arrangement of an Epeira's limy web; we find it
The Life of the Spider |
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 Touchstone by Edith Wharton: into a rational perspective. In this redistribution of values the
sombre retrospect of the previous evening shrank to a mere cloud
on the edge of consciousness. Perhaps the only service an unloved
woman can render the man she loves is to enhance and prolong his
illusions about her rival. It was the fate of Margaret Aubyn's
memory to serve as a foil to Miss Trent's presence, and never had
the poor lady thrown her successor into more vivid relief.
Miss Trent had the charm of still waters that are felt to be
renewed by rapid currents. Her attention spread a tranquil
surface to the demonstrations of others, and it was only in days
of storm that one felt the pressure of the tides. This
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