| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Unseen World and Other Essays by John Fiske: sort of three-story house. The flat earth rests upon the waters,
and under the earth's surface is the land of graves, called
Sheol, where after death the souls of all men go, the righteous
as well as the wicked, for the Jew had not arrived at the
doctrine of heaven and hell. The Hebrew Sheol corresponds
strictly to the Greek Hades, before the notions of Elysium and
Tartarus were added to it,--a land peopled with flitting shadows,
suffering no torment, but experiencing no pleasure, like those
whom Dante met in one of the upper circles of his Inferno. Sheol
is the first story of the cosmic house; the earth is the second.
Above the earth is the firmament or sky, which, according to the
The Unseen World and Other Essays |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Moran of the Lady Letty by Frank Norris: shore and sand-pits. At long intervals flying-fish skittered over
the water like skipping-stones. Shoals of porpoises came in from
outside, leaping clumsily along the edges of the kelp. Bewildered
land-birds perched on the schooner's rigging, and in the early
morning the whistling of quail could be heard on shore near where
a little fresh-water stream ran down to meet the ocean.
It was Wilbur who caught the first shark on the second morning of
the "Bertha's" advent in Magdalena Bay. A store of bait had been
accumulated, split and halved into chunks for the shark-hooks, and
Wilbur, baiting one of the huge lines that had been brought up on
deck the evening before, flung it overboard, and watched the
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| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from The Wrecker by Stevenson & Osbourne: love!" and he scribbled in his pad.
"What in creation ails you?" I inquired. "It's the most
commonplace expression in the English language."
"Better and better!" chuckled Pinkerton. "The unconsciousness
of genius. Lord, but this is coming in beautiful!" and he
scribbled again.
"If you're going to be fulsome," said I, "I'll close the place of
entertainment." And I threatened to replace the veil upon the
Genius.
"No, no," said he. "Don't be in a hurry. Give me a point or
two. Show me what's particularly good."
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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 Several Works by Edgar Allan Poe: This it is and nothing more."
Presently my soul grew stronger; hesitating then no longer,
"Sir," said I, "or Madam, truly your forgiveness I implore;
But the fact is I was napping, and so gently you came rapping,
And so faintly you came tapping, tapping at my chamber door,
That I scarce was sure I heard you"--here I opened wide the door--
Darkness there and nothing more.
Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there wondering, fearing,
Doubting, dreaming dreams no mortals ever dared to dream before;
But the silence was unbroken, and the stillness gave no token,
And the only word there spoken was the whispered word, "Lenore?"
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