| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Marie by H. Rider Haggard: against me, but that Retief would not listen, being infatuated with me
as many others were, and he looked towards the Prinsloos.
Then came the worst of all. He said that while he was engaged in
mending some guns for Dingaan in one of his private huts, he overheard a
conversation between myself and Dingaan which took place outside the
hut, I, of course, not knowing that he was within. The substance of
this conversation was that I again urged Dingaan to kill the Boers and
afterwards to send an impi to massacre their wives and families. Only I
asked him to give me time to get away a girl whom I had married from
among them, and with her a few of my own friends whom I wished should be
spared, as I intended to become a kind of chief over them, and if he
Marie |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Beyond Good and Evil by Friedrich Nietzsche: before their treacherous eyes--as though the hand were not a
betrayer; it always comes out at last that they have something
which they hide--namely, intellect. One of the subtlest means of
deceiving, at least as long as possible, and of successfully
representing oneself to be stupider than one really is--which in
everyday life is often as desirable as an umbrella,--is called
ENTHUSIASM, including what belongs to it, for instance, virtue.
For as Galiani said, who was obliged to know it: VERTU EST
ENTHOUSIASME.
289. In the writings of a recluse one always hears something of
the echo of the wilderness, something of the murmuring tones and
Beyond Good and Evil |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from The Talisman by Walter Scott: which the wild prophecy of the monk had inspired. "To die early
--without lineage--without lamentation! A heavy sentence, and
well that it is not passed by a more competent judge. Yet the
Saracens, who are accomplished in mystical knowledge, will often
maintain that He, in whose eyes the wisdom of the sage is but as
folly, inspires wisdom and prophecy into the seeming folly of the
madman. Yonder hermit is said to read the stars, too, an art
generally practised in these lands, where the heavenly host was
of yore the object of idolatry. I would I had asked him touching
the loss of my banner; for not the blessed Tishbite, the founder
of his order, could seem more wildly rapt out of himself, or
|
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 Master of the World by Jules Verne: [Project Gutenberg is a TradeMark and may not be used in any sales
of Project Gutenberg Etexts or other materials be they hardware or
software or any other related product without express permission.]
*END THE SMALL PRINT! FOR PUBLIC DOMAIN ETEXTS*Ver.07/27/01*END*
Produced by Norm Wolcott
#STARTMARK#
THE MASTER OF THE WORLD
By Jules Verne
Contents
1 What Happened in the Mountains
2 I Reach Morganton
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