| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells: at the time, and now none is forthcoming.
The results of an anatomical examination of the Martians,
so far as the prowling dogs had left such an examination
possible, I have already given. But everyone is familiar with
the magnificent and almost complete specimen in spirits at
the Natural History Museum, and the countless drawings
that have been made from it; and beyond that the interest
of their physiology and structure is purely scientific.
A question of graver and universal interest is the possi-
bility of another attack from the Martians. I do not think
that nearly enough attention is being given to this aspect
War of the Worlds |
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 Father Sergius by Leo Tolstoy: and he shook his head. 'No, that is not right. It is deception.
I may deceive others, but not myself or God. I am not a majestic
man, but a pitiable and ridiculous one!' And he threw back the
folds of his cassock and smiled as he looked at his thin legs in
their underclothing.
Then he dropped the folds of the cassock again and began reading
the prayers, making the sign of the cross and prostrating
himself. 'Can it be that this couch will be my bier?' he read.
And it seemed as if a devil whispered to him: 'A solitary couch
is itself a bier. Falsehood!' And in imagination he saw the
shoulders of a widow with whom he had lived. He shook himself,
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