| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Wrecker by Stevenson & Osbourne: get foul of the island; then we haul our wind and lie as near
south-east as may be till we're on that line; 'bout ship there and
stand straight out on the port tack. Catch the idea?"
"Yes, I see the idea," replied Carthew, rather dismally, and the
two incompetents studied for a long time in silence the
complicated gear above their heads.
But the time came when these rehearsals must be put in
practice. The sails were lowered, and all hands heaved the
anchor short. The whaleboat was then cut adrift, the upper
topsails and the spanker set, the yards braced up, and the
spanker sheet hauled out to starboard.
|
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from On Horsemanship by Xenophon: with ease, and play into each other, that is what we call a stiff bit.
Whatever the kind of bit may be, the rider must carry out precisely
the same rules in using it, as follows, if he wishes to turn out a
horse with the qualities described. The horse's mouth is not to be
pulled back too harshly so as to make him toss his head aside, nor yet
so gently that he will not feel the pressure. But the instant he
raises his neck in answer to the pull, give him the bit at once; and
so throughout, as we never cease repeating, at every response to your
wishes, whenever and wherever the animal performs his service well,[9]
reward and humour him. Thus, when the rider perceives that the horse
takes a pleasure in the high arching and supple play of his neck, let
On Horsemanship |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from The Dunwich Horror by H. P. Lovecraft: him for a while, and departed trembling and ashen-grey. That evening
he went to bed, but slept only fitfully. Wednesday - the next
day - he was back at the manuscript, and began to take copious
notes both from the current sections and from those he had already
deciphered. In the small hours of that night he slept a little
in a easy chair in his office, but was at the manuscript again
before dawn. Some time before noon his physician, Dr Hartwell,
called to see him and insisted that he cease work. He refused;
intimating that it was of the most vital importance for him to
complete the reading of the diary and promising an explanation
in due course of time. That evening, just as twilight fell, he
The Dunwich Horror |
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 Selected Writings of Guy De Maupassant by Guy De Maupassant: mysterious will over the human soul, which had become enslaved.
They called it mesmerism, hypnotism, suggestion, I know not what?
I have seen them diverting themselves like rash children with
this horrible power! Woe to us! Woe to man! He has come,
the--the--what does He call himself--the--I fancy that he is
shouting out his name to me and I do not hear him--the--yes--He
is shouting it out--I am listening--I
cannot--repeat--it--Horla--I have heard--the Horla--it is He--the
Horla--He has come!--
Ah! the vulture has eaten the pigeon, the wolf has eaten the
lamb; the lion has devoured the sharp-horned buffalo; man has
|
