| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Off on a Comet by Jules Verne: Under these circumstances it was very necessary to counteract the tendency
to de-spond by continual diversion; and the recreation of skating thus
opportunely provided, seemed just the thing to arouse the flagging spirits,
and to restore a wholesome excitement.
With dogged obstinacy, Isaac Hakkabut refused to take any
share either in the labors or the amusements of the colony.
In spite of the cold, he had not been seen since the day
of his arrival from Gourbi Island. Captain Servadac
had strictly forbidden any communication with him;
and the smoke that rose from the cabin chimney of the _Hansa_
was the sole indication of the proprietor being still on board.
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Timaeus by Plato: Island of Atlantis was engraved. The statement may be false--there are
similar tales about columns set up 'by the Canaanites whom Joshua drove
out' (Procop.); but even if true, it would only show that the legend, 800
years after the time of Plato, had been transferred to Egypt, and
inscribed, not, like other forgeries, in books, but on stone. Probably in
the Alexandrian age, when Egypt had ceased to have a history and began to
appropriate the legends of other nations, many such monuments were to be
found of events which had become famous in that or other countries. The
oldest witness to the story is said to be Crantor, a Stoic philosopher who
lived a generation later than Plato, and therefore may have borrowed it
from him. The statement is found in Proclus; but we require better
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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 The Marvelous Land of Oz by L. Frank Baum: golden railing above hung many folds of pink gossamer, completely concealing
the interior of the couch.
The first act of the Witch was to make the boy drink a potion which quickly
sent him into a deep and dreamless sleep. Then the Tin Woodman and the
Woggle-Bug bore him gently to the couch, placed him upon the soft cushions,
and drew the gossamer hangings to shut him from all earthly view.
The Witch squatted upon the ground and kindled a tiny fire of dried herbs,
which she drew from her bosom. When the blaze shot up and burned clearly old
Mombi scattered a handful of magical powder over the fire, which straightway
gave off a rich violet vapor, filling all the tent with its fragrance and
forcing the Saw-Horse to sneeze -- although he had been warned to keep
The Marvelous Land 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 Life in the Iron-Mills by Rebecca Davis: Along the wall of her cell there was a crack low down by the
floor, through which she could see the light from Wolfe's. She
had discovered it days before. She hurried in now, and,
kneeling down by it, listened, hoping to hear some sound.
Nothing but the rasping of the tin on the bars. He was at his
old amusement again. Something in the noise jarred on her ear,
for she shivered as she heard it. Hugh rasped away at the bars.
A dull old bit of tin, not fit to cut korl with.
He looked out of the window again. People were leaving the
market now. A tall mulatto girl, following her mistress, her
basket on her head, crossed the street just below, and looked
Life in the Iron-Mills |
