| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Faraday as a Discoverer by John Tyndall: by the magnet; in coal-gas, for example, it was powerfully magnetic,
whereas nitrogen was diamagnetic. Some of the effects obtained with
oxygen in coal-gas were strikingly beautiful. When the fumes of
chloride of ammonium (a diamagnetic substance) were mingled with the
oxygen, the cloud of chloride behaved in a most singular manner,--
'The attraction of iron filings,' says Faraday, 'to a magnetic pole
is not more striking than the appearance presented by the oxygen
under these circumstances.'
On observing this deportment the question immediately occurs to him,
--Can we not separate the oxygen of the atmosphere from its nitrogen
by magnetic analysis? It is the perpetual occurrence of such
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Nada the Lily by H. Rider Haggard: and in front of her was a lad long and strong, with a grim face, and a
wolf's hide, black and grey, bound about his shoulders in such fashion
that the upper jar and teeth of the wolf rested on his head. He stood
before the lioness, shouting, and in one hand he held a large war-
shield, and in the other he grasped a heavy club shod with iron.
Now the lioness crouched herself to spring, growling terribly, but the
lad with the club did not wait for her onset. He ran in upon her and
struck her on the head with the club. He smote hard and well, but this
did not kill her, for she reared herself upon her hind legs and struck
at him heavily. He caught the blow upon his shield, but the shield was
driven against his breast so strongly that he fell backwards beneath
Nada the Lily |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from The Emerald City of Oz by L. Frank Baum: Hammer-Heads, because they had no arms and used their flat heads to
pound any one who came near them. Their necks were like rubber, so
that they could shoot out their heads to quite a distance, and
afterward draw them back again to their shoulders. The Hammer-Heads
were called the "Wild People," but never harmed any but those who
disturbed them in the mountains where they lived.
In some of the dense forests there lived great beasts of every sort;
yet these were for the most part harmless and even sociable, and
conversed agreeably with those who visited their haunts. The
Kalidahs--beasts with bodies like bears and heads like tigers--had
once been fierce and bloodthirsty, but even they were now nearly
The Emerald City of Oz |
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 War and the Future by H. G. Wells: we started Tribunals to wrangle with the objectors about their
/bona fides./ Then the Pacifists and the Pro-Germans issued
little leaflets and started correspondence courses to teach
people exactly how to lie to the Tribunals. Trouble about
freedom of the pamphleteer followed. I had to admit--it has been
rather a sloppy business. "The people who made the law knew
their own minds, but we English are not an expressive people."
These are not easy things to say in Elementary (and slightly
Decayed) French or in Elementary and Corrupt Italian.
"But why do people support the sham conscientious objector and
issue leaflets to help him--when there is so much big work
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