| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from A Personal Record by Joseph Conrad: transaction, appealing insidiously to the folly and credulity of
man kind, the brazen, shameless patter, proclaiming the fraud
openly while insisting on the fairness of the game, give one a
feeling of sickening disgust. The honest violence of a plain man
playing a fair game fairly--even if he means to knock you
over--may appear shocking, but it remains within the pale of
decency. Damaging as it may be, it is in no sense offensive.
One may well feel some regard for honesty, even if practised upon
one's own vile body. But it is very obvious that an enemy of
that sort will not be stayed by explanations or placated by
apologies. Were I to advance the plea of youth in excuse of the
A Personal Record |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Call of Cthulhu by H. P. Lovecraft: of his story, and speaks only of their falling into a rock chasm.
Later, it seems, he and one companion boarded the yacht and tried
to manage her, but were beaten about by the storm of April 2nd,
From that time till his rescue on the 12th the man remembers little,
and he does not even recall when William Briden, his companion,
died. Briden's death reveals no apparent cause, and was probably
due to excitement or exposure. Cable advices from Dunedin report
that the Alert was well known there as an island trader, and bore
an evil reputation along the waterfront, It was owned by a curious
group of half-castes whose frequent meetings and night trips to
the woods attracted no little curiosity; and it had set sail in
Call of Cthulhu |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Options by O. Henry: that. His arm was as hard as cast-iron.
"Four years ago," said Mack, "I could lick any man in New York outside
of the professional ring. Your case and mine is just the same. I
come from the West Side--between Thirtieth and Fourteenth--I won't
give the number on the door. I was a scrapper when I was ten, and
when I was twenty no amateur in the city could stand up four rounds
with me. 'S a fact. You know Bill McCarty? No? He managed the
smokers for some of them swell clubs. Well, I knocked out everything
Bill brought up before me. I was a middle-weight, but could train
down to a welter when necessary. I boxed all over the West Side at
bouts and benefits and private entertainments, and was never put out
Options |
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 The Patchwork Girl of Oz by L. Frank Baum: "Oh!" exclaimed the boy, as if a great discovery
had flashed across his mind. But he did not tell
anybody what the discovery was and kept the idea
to himself.
It was a long walk, but a pleasant one, and
they did not mind it a bit. Late in the afternoon
they drew near to the wonderful tin castle of
the Emperor of the Winkies, and Ojo and
Scraps, who had never seen it before, were
filled with amazement.
Tin abounded in the Winkie Country and
The Patchwork Girl of Oz |
