| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Lost Princess of Oz by L. Frank Baum: me."
"Once," said the Mule, "I lost my bray so that I couldn't call to
Betsy to let her know I was hungry. That was before I could talk, you
know, for I had not yet come into the Land of Oz, and I found it was
certainly very uncomfortable not to be able to make a noise."
"You make enough noise now," declared Toto. "But none of you have
answered my question: Where is my growl?"
"You may search ME," said the Woozy. "I don't care for such things,
myself."
"You snore terribly," asserted Toto.
"It may be," said the Woozy. "What one does when asleep one is not
The Lost Princess of Oz |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Pellucidar by Edgar Rice Burroughs: large, commodious hatch, leading to the lower deck. The
sides of the ship rose three feet above the upper deck,
forming an excellent breastwork, which we loopholed at
intervals that we might lie prone and fire upon an
enemy.
Though we were sailing out upon a peaceful mission
in search of my friend Ja, we knew that we might meet
with people of some other island who would prove
unfriendly.
At last the tide turned. We weighed anchor. Slowly
we drifted down the great river toward the sea.
Pellucidar |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Maitre Cornelius by Honore de Balzac: vindicate the truth of this study, certain details of which may
frighten the perfected morals of our age, which are, as everybody
knows, a trifle straitlaced.
At the moment when the chanting ceased and the last notes of the
organ, mingling with the vibrations of the loud "A-men" as it issued
from the strong chests of the intoning clergy, sent a murmuring echo
through the distant arches, and the hushed assembly were awaiting the
beneficent words of the archbishop, a burgher, impatient to get home,
or fearing for his purse in the tumult of the crowd when the
worshippers dispersed, slipped quietly away, at the risk of being
called a bad Catholic. On which, a nobleman, leaning against one of
|
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 Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad: sure to have in the future a good influence upon his career.
I had full information about all these things, and, besides,
as it turned out, I was to have the care of his memory.
I've done enough for it to give me the indisputable right to lay it,
if I choose, for an everlasting rest in the dust-bin of progress,
amongst all the sweepings and, figuratively speaking, all the dead
cats of civilization. But then, you see, I can't choose.
He won't be forgotten. Whatever he was, he was not common.
He had the power to charm or frighten rudimentary souls into
an aggravated witch-dance in his honour; he could also fill
the small souls of the pilgrims with bitter misgivings:
Heart of Darkness |
