| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from The Secret Agent by Joseph Conrad: organisation where in the nature of things it could not exist;
spoke of the social revolutionary party one moment as of a
perfectly disciplined army, where the word of chiefs was supreme,
and at another as if it had been the loosest association of
desperate brigands that ever camped in a mountain gorge. Once Mr
Verloc had opened his mouth for a protest, but the raising of a
shapely, large white hand arrested him. Very soon he became too
appalled to even try to protest. He listened in a stillness of
dread which resembled the immobility of profound attention.
"A series of outrages," Mr Vladimir continued calmly, "executed
here in this country; not only PLANNED here - that would not do -
The Secret Agent |
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 Frankenstein by Mary Shelley: probably never escape, but they feared that if, as was possible,
the ice should dissipate and a free passage be opened, I should be
rash enough to continue my voyage and lead them into fresh dangers,
after they might happily have surmounted this. They insisted,
therefore, that I should engage with a solemn promise that if the
vessel should be freed I would instantly direct my course southwards.
This speech troubled me. I had not despaired, nor had I yet
conceived the idea of returning if set free. Yet could I,
in justice, or even in possibility, refuse this demand?
I hesitated before I answered, when Frankenstein, who had at first
been silent, and indeed appeared hardly to have force enough
Frankenstein |
