| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Almayer's Folly by Joseph Conrad: canoe, under the white canopy of mist, over the smooth surface of
the river.
Suddenly a great sheaf of yellow rays shot upwards from behind
the black curtain of trees lining the banks of the Pantai. The
stars went out; the little black clouds at the zenith glowed for
a moment with crimson tints, and the thick mist, stirred by the
gentle breeze, the sigh of waking nature, whirled round and broke
into fantastically torn pieces, disclosing the wrinkled surface
of the river sparkling in the broad light of day. Great flocks
of white birds wheeled screaming above the swaying tree-tops.
The sun had risen on the east coast.
Almayer's Folly |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Letters of Robert Louis Stevenson by Robert Louis Stevenson: desired foothold over a boggy place.
LATER; no, it won't go in, and I fear I must give up 'the
idolatrous occupant upon the throne,' a phrase that overjoyed me
beyond expression. I am in a deuce of a flutter with politics,
which I hate, and in which I certainly do not shine; but a fellow
cannot stand aside and look on at such an exhibition as our
government. 'Taint decent; no gent can hold a candle to it. But
it's a grind to be interrupted by midnight messengers and pass your
days writing proclamations (which are never proclaimed) and
petitions (which ain't petited) and letters to the TIMES, which it
makes my jaws yawn to re-read, and all your time have your heart
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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 A Pair of Blue Eyes by Thomas Hardy: looking van from the rear of the train, to shunt another which was
between it and the fore part of the train. This operation having
been concluded, the two friends returned to the side of their
carriage.
'Will you come in here?' said Knight, not very warmly.
'I have my rug and portmanteau and umbrella with me: it is rather
bothering to move now,' said Stephen reluctantly. 'Why not you
come here?'
'I have my traps too. It is hardly worth while to shift them, for
I shall see you again, you know.'
'Oh, yes.'
A Pair of Blue Eyes |
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 Door in the Wall, et. al. by H. G. Wells: a frightful precipice, and beyond that everything was hidden. Far,
far below, and hazy with distance, they could see trees rising out
of a narrow, shut-in valley--the lost Country of the Blind. But
they did not know it was the lost Country of the Blind, nor
distinguish it in any way from any other narrow streak of upland
valley. Unnerved by this disaster, they abandoned their attempt in
the afternoon, and Pointer was called away to the war before he
could make another attack. To this day Parascotopetl lifts an
unconquered crest, and Pointer's shelter crumbles unvisited amidst
the snows.
And the man who fell survived.
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