| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from 'Twixt Land & Sea by Joseph Conrad: In the intense stillness, as of sleep, which had fallen upon the
two vessels, in a world that itself seemed but a delicate dream, a
boat pulled by Javanese sailors crossing the dark lane of water
came alongside the brig. The white warrant officer in her, perhaps
the gunner, climbed aboard. He was a short man, with a rotund
stomach and a wheezy voice. His immovable fat face looked lifeless
in the moonlight, and he walked with his thick arms hanging away
from his body as though he had been stuffed. His cunning little
eyes glittered like bits of mica. He conveyed to Jasper, in broken
English, a request to come on board the Neptun.
Jasper had not expected anything so unusual. But after a short
'Twixt Land & Sea |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Patchwork Girl of Oz by L. Frank Baum: there are no barbers there."
"Who is the dwarf?" asked the cat.
"That is not a dwarf, but a boy," answered
the Magician. "You have never seen a boy before.
He is now small because he is young. With more
years he will grow big and become as tall as Unc
Nunkie."
"Oh. Is that magic?" the glass animal inquired.
"Yes; but it is Nature's magic, which is more
wonderful than any art known to man. For
instance, my magic made you, and made you
The Patchwork Girl of Oz |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from The Vicar of Tours by Honore de Balzac: him, while he is endeavoring to use it to his own profit; whereas, in
former days, man, really more free, was also more loyal to the public
weal. The round in which men struggle in these days has been
insensibly widened; the soul which can grasp it as a whole will ever
be a magnificent exception; for, as a general thing, in morals as in
physics, impulsion loses in intensity what it gains in extension.
Society can not be based on exceptions. Man in the first instance was
purely and simply, father; his heart beat warmly, concentrated in the
one ray of Family. Later, he lived for a clan, or a small community;
hence the great historical devotions of Greece and Rome. After that he
was a man of caste or of a religion, to maintain the greatness of
|
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 At the Earth's Core by Edgar Rice Burroughs: but I found that it left me all the more determined
to attempt it.
"If Ghak will accompany us we may be able to do it,"
I suggested.
Perry and I sought him out and put the question straight
to him.
"Ghak," I said, "we are determined to escape from
this bondage. Will you accompany us?"
"They will set the thipdars upon us," he said, "and then
we shall be killed; but--" he hesitated--"I would take
the chance if I thought that I might possibly escape
At the Earth's Core |
