| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Animal Farm by George Orwell: And suddenly, at the sound of the mingled voices, the animals were
stricken with curiosity. What could be happening in there, now that for
the first time animals and human beings were meeting on terms of equality?
With one accord they began to creep as quietly as possible into the
farmhouse garden.
At the gate they paused, half frightened to go on but Clover led the way
in. They tiptoed up to the house, and such animals as were tall enough
peered in at the dining-room window. There, round the long table, sat half
a dozen farmers and half a dozen of the more eminent pigs, Napoleon
himself occupying the seat of honour at the head of the table. The pigs
appeared completely at ease in their chairs. The company had been enjoying
Animal Farm |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Herbert West: Reanimator by H. P. Lovecraft: turning toward the ancient cemetery on which the back of the house
abutted. When I slammed the door after them West came downstairs
and looked at the box. It was about two feet square, and bore
West’s correct name and present address. It also bore the inscription,
"From Eric Moreland Clapham-Lee, St. Eloi, Flanders." Six years
before, in Flanders, a shelled hospital had fallen upon the headless
reanimated trunk of Dr. Clapham-Lee, and upon the detached head
which -- perhaps -- had uttered articulate sounds.
West was
not even excited now. His condition was more ghastly. Quickly
he said, "It’s the finish -- but let’s incinerate -- this." We
Herbert West: Reanimator |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Poems of William Blake by William Blake: With milk and oil I never knew, and therefore did I weep,
And I complaind in the mild air, because I fade away.
And lay me down in thy cold bed, and leave my shining lot.
Queen of the vales, the matron Clay answered: I heard thy sighs.
And all thy moans flew o'er my roof, but I have call'd them down:
Wilt thou O Queen enter my house, tis given thee to enter,
And to return: fear nothing, enter with thy virgin feet.
IV.
The eternal gates terrific porter lifted the northern bar:
Thel enter'd in & saw the secrets of the land unknown;
She saw the couches of the dead, & where the fibrous roots
Poems of William Blake |
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 Muse of the Department by Honore de Balzac: However lofty, beautiful, and clever a girl born in any department of
France may be on entering life, if, like Dinah Piedefer, she marries
in the country and remains there, she inevitably becomes the
provincial woman. In spite of every determination, the commonplace of
second-rate ideas, indifference to dress, the culture of vulgar
people, swamp the sublimer essence hidden in the youthful plant; all
is over, it falls into decay. How should it be otherwise? From their
earliest years girls bred in the country see none but provincials;
they cannot imagine anything superior, their choice lies among
mediocrities; provincial fathers marry their daughters to provincial
sons; crossing the races is never thought of, and the brain inevitably
The Muse of the Department |
