| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Mad King by Edgar Rice Burroughs: tody our next immediate task should be to hunt down the
impostor and bring him to justice also; though"--and the
old prince sighed--"he was indeed a brave man, and a
noble figure of a king as he led your troops to battle."
The king had been smiling as Von der Tann first spoke of
the "impostor," but at the old man's praise of the other's
bravery a slight flush tinged his cheek, and the shadow of
a scowl crossed his brow.
"Wait," he said, "we shall not have to look far for your
'impostor,'" and summoning an aide he dispatched him for
"Lieutenant Butzow and Mr. Custer."
The Mad King |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from 1492 by Mary Johntson: her outer gardens stripped away, bare light striking the red
Alhambra and the Citadel. When the wind swept over her
and on to Santa Fe it seemed to bring a sound of wailing
and the faint and terrible odor of a long besieged place.
I came at eve into Santa Fe, found at last an inn of the
poorer sort, ate scant supper and went to bed. Dawn came
with a great ringing of church bells.
Out of the inn, in the throbbing street, I began my search
for Don Enrique de Cerda. One told me one thing and one
another, but at last I got true direction. At noon I found
him in a goodly room where be made recovery from wounds.
|
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Jerusalem Delivered by Torquato Tasso: And being come thus spoke he to the rest,
"Warriors, why stand you gazing here in vain?
Pale death our valiant leader had opprest,
Come wreak his loss, whom bootless you complain.
Those walls are weak, they keep but cowards out
No rampier can withstand a courage stout.
LI
"Of double iron, brass or adamant,
Or if this wall were built of flaming fire,
Yet should the Pagan vile a fortress want
To shroud his coward head safe from mine ire;
|
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 On the Origin of Species by Charles Darwin: Hewitt, Mr., on sterility of first crosses
Himalaya, glaciers of; plants of
Hippeastrum
Holly-trees, sexes of
Hollyhock, varieties of, crossed
Hooker, Dr., on trees of New Zealand
Hooker, Dr., on acclimatisation of Himalayan trees; on flowers of
umbelliferae; on glaciers of Himalaya; on algae of New Zealand; on
vegetation at the base of the Himalaya; on plants of Tierra del Fuego; on
Australian plants; on relations of flora of South America; on flora of the
Antarctic lands; on the plants of the Galapagos
On the Origin of Species |
