| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Door in the Wall, et. al. by H. G. Wells: him. Then the big dynamo suddenly fizzled, and in another moment
Azuma-zi had sprung out of the darkness upon him.
First, the scientific manager was gripped round the body and
swung towards the big dynamo, then, kicking with his knee and
forcing his antagonist's head down with his hands, he loosened the
grip on his waist and swung round away from the machine. Then the
black grasped him again, putting a curly head against his chest,
and they swayed and panted as it seemed for an age or so. Then the
scientific manager was impelled to catch a black ear in his teeth
and bite furiously. The black yelled hideously.
They rolled over on the floor, and the black, who had
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Phaedo by Plato: but never descending below the centre of the earth; for on either side the
rivers flowing either way are stopped by a precipice. These rivers are
many and mighty, and there are four principal ones, Oceanus, Acheron,
Pyriphlegethon, and Cocytus. Oceanus is the river which encircles the
earth; Acheron takes an opposite direction, and after flowing under the
earth through desert places, at last reaches the Acherusian lake,--this is
the river at which the souls of the dead await their return to earth.
Pyriphlegethon is a stream of fire, which coils round the earth and flows
into the depths of Tartarus. The fourth river, Cocytus, is that which is
called by the poets the Stygian river, and passes into and forms the lake
Styx, from the waters of which it gains new and strange powers. This
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| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from At the Earth's Core by Edgar Rice Burroughs: Down to the main floor we encountered many Mahars,
Sagoths, and slaves; but no attention was paid to us as we
had become a part of the domestic life of the building.
There was but a single entrance leading from the place
into the avenue and this was well guarded by Sagoths--this
doorway alone were we forbidden to pass. It is true
that we were not supposed to enter the deeper corridors
and apartments except on special occasions when we were
instructed to do so; but as we were considered a lower
order without intelligence there was little reason
to fear that we could accomplish any harm by so doing,
At the Earth's Core |
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: people. They have been a little mislead--but nice people do not
insist upon that fact. But beware of beating Germany, beware of
humiliating Germany; then indeed trouble will come. Germany will
begin to dislike us. She will plan a revenge. Turning aside
from her erstwhile innocent career, she may even think of hate.
What are our obligations to France, Italy, Serbia and Russia,
what is the happiness of a few thousands of the Herero, a few
millions of the Belgians--whose numbers moreover are constantly
diminishing--when we might weigh them against the danger, the
most terrible danger, of incurring /permanent German
hostility?.../
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