| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Call of the Wild by Jack London: missing and Buck covered with wounds. He drew him to the fire and
by its light pointed them out.
"Dat Spitz fight lak hell," said Perrault, as he surveyed the
gaping rips and cuts.
"An' dat Buck fight lak two hells," was Francois's answer. "An'
now we make good time. No more Spitz, no more trouble, sure."
While Perrault packed the camp outfit and loaded the sled, the
dog-driver proceeded to harness the dogs. Buck trotted up to the
place Spitz would have occupied as leader; but Francois, not
noticing him, brought Sol-leks to the coveted position. In his
judgment, Sol-leks was the best lead-dog left. Buck sprang upon
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Black Tulip by Alexandre Dumas: called out to the coachman, --
"To the Tol-Hek!"
The Tol-Hek was the iron gate leading to the harbor of
Schevening, in which a small vessel was waiting for the two
brothers.
The carriage drove off with the fugitives at the full speed
of a pair of spirited Flemish horses. Rosa followed them
with her eyes until they turned the corner of the street,
upon which, closing the door after her, she went back and
threw the key into a cell.
The noise which had made Rosa suppose that the people were
The Black Tulip |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from The Koran: torment, for God is mighty and avenging.
Verily, God, there is nothing hidden from Him in the earth, nor in
the heaven; He it is who fashions you in the womb as He pleases. There
is no God but He, the mighty, the wise.
He it is who has revealed to thee the Book, of which there are
some verses that are decisive, they are the mother of the Book; and
others ambiguous; but as for those in whose hearts is perversity, they
follow what is ambiguous, and do crave for sedition, craving for
(their own) interpretation of it; but none know the interpretation
of it except God. But those who are well grounded in knowledge say,
'We believe in it; it is all from our Lord; but none will remember
The Koran |
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 Firm of Nucingen by Honore de Balzac: They did not even condescend to explain to shareholders the exact
limits of their liabilities when they informed them that the directors
in their goodness, refrained from asking any more than a thousand, or
five hundred, or even two hundred and fifty francs. It was not given
out that the experiment in aere publico was not meant to last for more
than seven, five, or even three years, so that shareholders would not
have long to wait for the catastrophe. It was in the childhood of the
art. Promoters did not even publish the gigantic prospectuses with
which they stimulate the imagination, and at the same time make
demands for money of all and sundry."
"That only comes when nobody wishes to part with money," said Couture.
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