| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Thuvia, Maid of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs: possession of such a prisoner entailed.
His one thought was to get her to Dusar, and there let his
father assume the responsibility. In the meantime he would
be as careful as possible to do nothing to affront her,
lest they all might be captured and he have to account
for his treatment of the girl to one of the great jeddaks
whose interest centred in her.
And so at last they came to Dusar, where Astok hid his
prisoner in a secret room high in the east tower of
his own palace. He had sworn his men to silence in the
matter of the identity of the girl, for until he had seen
Thuvia, Maid of Mars |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Youth by Joseph Conrad: SHE will never get to Bankok.' 'That's all YOU know
about it,' I said scornfully--but I didn't like that proph-
ecy at all.
"Suddenly a man, some kind of agent to somebody,
appeared with full powers. He had grog blossoms all
over his face, an indomitable energy, and was a jolly
soul. We leaped into life again. A hulk came along-
side, took our cargo, and then we went into dry dock to
get our copper stripped. No wonder she leaked. The
poor thing, strained beyond endurance by the gale, had,
as if in disgust, spat out all the oakum of her lower
Youth |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Apology by Plato: I have said enough in my defence against the first class of my accusers; I
turn to the second class. They are headed by Meletus, that good man and
true lover of his country, as he calls himself. Against these, too, I must
try to make a defence:--Let their affidavit be read: it contains something
of this kind: It says that Socrates is a doer of evil, who corrupts the
youth; and who does not believe in the gods of the state, but has other new
divinities of his own. Such is the charge; and now let us examine the
particular counts. He says that I am a doer of evil, and corrupt the
youth; but I say, O men of Athens, that Meletus is a doer of evil, in that
he pretends to be in earnest when he is only in jest, and is so eager to
bring men to trial from a pretended zeal and interest about matters in
|
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 Odyssey by Homer: the misty seas, to seek tidings of the return of my father
that is long gone: but all this my purpose do the Achaeans
delay, and mainly the wooers in the naughtiness of their
pride.'
So spake he in prayer, and Athene drew nigh him in the
likeness of Mentor, in fashion and in voice, and she spake
and hailed him in winged words:
'Telemachus, even hereafter thou shalt not be craven or
witless, if indeed thou hast a drop of thy father's blood
and a portion of his spirit; such an one was he to fulfil
both word and work. Nor, if this be so, shall thy voyage be
The Odyssey |
