| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Octopus by Frank Norris: eat dog," an unspeakable cannibalism. Harran, Annixter, and
Hooven were being devoured there under his eyes. These dainty
women, his cousin Beatrice and little Miss Gerard, frail,
delicate; all these fine ladies with their small fingers and
slender necks, suddenly were transfigured in his tortured mind
into harpies tearing human flesh. His head swam with the horror
of it, the terror of it. Yes, the People WOULD turn some day,
and turning, rend those who now preyed upon them. It would be
"dog eat dog " again, with positions reversed, and he saw for one
instant of time that splendid house sacked to its foundations,
the tables overturned, the pictures torn, the hangings blazing,
|
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle: has been a little quick in forming his conclusions," he said.
"But he is right. Oh! I know that he is right. James never did
it. And about his quarrel with his father, I am sure that the
reason why he would not speak about it to the coroner was because
I was concerned in it."
"In what way?" asked Holmes.
"It is no time for me to hide anything. James and his father had
many disagreements about me. Mr. McCarthy was very anxious that
there should be a marriage between us. James and I have always
loved each other as brother and sister; but of course he is young
and has seen very little of life yet, and--and--well, he
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Anabasis by Xenophon: Regius Professor of Greek in the University of Oxford
Xenophon the Athenian was born 431 B.C. He was a
pupil of Socrates. He marched with the Spartans,
and was exiled from Athens. Sparta gave him land
and property in Scillus, where he lived for many
years before having to move once more, to settle
in Corinth. He died in 354 B.C.
The Anabasis is his story of the march to Persia
to aid Cyrus, who enlisted Greek help to try and
take the throne from Artaxerxes, and the ensuing
return of the Greeks, in which Xenophon played a
Anabasis |
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 Warlord of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs: thus to desecrate the ancient customs which inspire the deportment
of a guest within the palace of his host. Lest I, too, should
forget myself as has my royal friend, I should prefer to remain
silent until the Jeddak of Ptarth has won from me applause for his
action by relating the causes which provoked it."
I could see that the Jeddak of Ptarth was of half a mind to
throw his metal in Kulan Tith's face, but he controlled himself
even as well as had his host.
"None knows better than Thuvan Dihn," he said, "the laws which
The Warlord of Mars |
