| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Before Adam by Jack London: had made, it was still a tight squeeze for us to get
in. And though from time to time we continued to
enlarge, it was still too small for Red-Eye's monstrous
body. But he never stormed our cave again. He had
learned the lesson well, and he carried on his neck a
bulging lump to show where I had hit him with the rock.
This lump never went away, and it was prominent enough
to be seen at a distance. I often took great delight
in watching that evidence of my handiwork; and
sometimes, when I was myself assuredly safe, the sight
of it caused me to laugh.
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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 Master of Ballantrae by Robert Louis Stevenson: of the house which we kept locked; went to my own room for my keys,
and, returning to the loft, had the gratification to find two that
fitted pretty well. In one of the portmanteaux there was a
shagreen letter-case, which I cut open with my knife; and
thenceforth (so far as any credit went) the man was at my mercy.
Here was a vast deal of gallant correspondence, chiefly of his
Paris days; and, what was more to the purpose, here were the copies
of his own reports to the English Secretary, and the originals of
the Secretary's answers: a most damning series: such as to
publish would be to wreck the Master's honour and to set a price
upon his life. I chuckled to myself as I ran through 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 Koran: patience with me?'
Said he, 'Rebuke me not for forgetting, and impose not on me a
difficult command.' So they set out until they met a boy, and he
killed him. And he (Moses) said, 'Hast thou killed a pure person
without (his killing) a person? thou hast produced an unheard-of
thing.'
Said he, 'Did I not tell thee, verily, thou canst not have
patience with me?'
Said he, 'If I ask thee about anything after it, then do not
accompany me. Now hast thou arrived at my excuse.' So they set out
until when they came to the people of a city; and they asked the
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 Barlaam and Ioasaph by St. John of Damascus: `Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass
away.' And again the Psalmist saith, `Thou, Lord, in the
beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens
are the work of thy hands. They shall perish, but thou endurest;
and they all shall wax old as doth a garment, and as a vesture
shalt thou fold them up, and they shall be changed, but thou art
the same, and thy years shall not fail!' And those divine
preachers of the coming of Christ, those wise fishers of the
world, whose nets drew all men from the depths of deceit, whom
thou, in thy vileness and bondage to sin, dost vilify, did by
signs and wonders and manifold powers shine as the sun in the
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