| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from The Faith of Men by Jack London: puppy hated only blindly, instinctively, without reason or method.
At first there were no refinements of cruelty (these were to come
later), but simple beatings and crude brutalities. In one of these
Batard had an ear injured. He never regained control of the riven
muscles, and ever after the ear drooped limply down to keep keen
the memory of his tormentor. And he never forgot.
His puppyhood was a period of foolish rebellion. He was always
worsted, but he fought back because it was his nature to fight
back. And he was unconquerable. Yelping shrilly from the pain of
lash and club, he none the less contrived always to throw in the
defiant snarl, the bitter vindictive menace of his soul which
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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 Puck of Pook's Hill by Rudyard Kipling: had fought in the old Pict War. The two men never loved
each other, and when Gratian made the younger
Theodosius Emperor of the East (at least, so I've heard),
Maximus carried on the war to the second generation. It
was his fate, and it was his fall. But Theodosius the
Emperor is a good man. As I know.' Parnesius was silent
for a moment and then continued.
'I wrote back to Maximus that, though we had peace on
the Wall, I should be happier with a few more men and
some new catapults. He answered: "You must live a little
longer under the shadow of my victories, till I can see what
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