| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Egmont by Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe: till now been led by the nose, how we had been kept in darkness, and how
we might procure more light;--ay, and he proved it all out of the Bible.
Jetter. There may be something in it. I always said as much, and have
often pondered over the matter. It has long been running in my head.
Buyck. All the people run after them.
Soest. No wonder, since they hear both what is good and what is new.
Jetter. And what is it all about? Surely they might 1et every one preach
after his own fashion.
Buyck. Come, sirs! While you are talking, you; forget the wine and the
Prince of Orange.
Jetter. We must not forget him. He's a very wall of defence. In thinking of
Egmont |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Secrets of the Princesse de Cadignan by Honore de Balzac: usurers; she pockets "dots"; she ruins orphans; she inspires, possibly
she commits, crimes, but--"
Never had the two men, whom d'Arthez was chiefly addressing, listened
to such plain talk. At that BUT the whole table was startled, every
one paused, fork in air, their eyes fixed alternately on the brave
author and on the assailants of the princess, awaiting the conclusion
of that horrible silence.
"But," said d'Arthez, with sarcastic airiness, "Madame la Princesse de
Cadignan has one advantage over men: when they have put themselves in
danger for her sake, she saves them, and says no harm of any one.
Among the multitude, why shouldn't there be one woman who amuses
|
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Almayer's Folly by Joseph Conrad: and virtuous man Reshid, she would be the mistress of all the
splendours of Reshid's house, and first wife of the first Arab in
the Islands, when he--Abdulla--was called to the joys of Paradise
by Allah the All-merciful. "You know, Tuan," he said, in
conclusion, "the other women would be her slaves, and Reshid's
house is great. From Bombay he has brought great divans, and
costly carpets, and European furniture. There is also a great
looking-glass in a frame shining like gold. What could a girl
want more?" And while Almayer looked upon him in silent dismay
Abdulla spoke in a more confidential tone, waving his attendants
away, and finished his speech by pointing out the material
Almayer's Folly |
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 Herbert West: Reanimator by H. P. Lovecraft: supply of very fresh human bodies; very fresh because even the
least decay hopelessly damaged the brain structure, and human
because we found that the solution had to be compounded differently
for different types of organisms. Scores of rabbits and guinea-pigs
had been killed and treated, but their trail was a blind one.
West had never fully succeeded because he had never been able
to secure a corpse sufficiently fresh. What he wanted were bodies
from which vitality had only just departed; bodies with every
cell intact and capable of receiving again the impulse toward
that mode of motion called life. There was hope that this second
and artificial life might be made perpetual by repetitions of
Herbert West: Reanimator |
