| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Verses 1889-1896 by Rudyard Kipling: And they raised the ~Baltic~ out of the mist, and an angry ship was she:
And blind they groped through the whirling white and blind to the bay again,
Till they heard the creak of the ~Stralsund~'s boom
and the clank of her mooring chain.
They laid them down by bitt and boat, their pistols in their belts,
And: "Will you fight for it, Reuben Paine, or will you share the pelts?"
A dog-toothed laugh laughed Reuben Paine, and bared his flenching-knife.
"Yea, skin for skin, and all that he hath a man will give for his life;
But I've six thousand skins below, and Yeddo Port to see,
And there's never a law of God or man runs north of Fifty-Three:
Verses 1889-1896 |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Lord Arthur Savile's Crime, etc. by Oscar Wilde: of girlhood looked out in wonder from the dreaming eyes. With her
soft, clinging dress of CREPE-DE-CHINE, and her large leaf-shaped
fan, she looked like one of those delicate little figures men find
in the olive-woods near Tanagra; and there was a touch of Greek
grace in her pose and attitude. Yet she was not PETITE. She was
simply perfectly proportioned - a rare thing in an age when so many
women are either over life-size or insignificant.
Now as Lord Arthur looked at her, he was filled with the terrible
pity that is born of love. He felt that to marry her, with the
doom of murder hanging over his head, would be a betrayal like that
of Judas, a sin worse than any the Borgia had ever dreamed of.
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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 Almayer's Folly by Joseph Conrad: help our paddles."
"Dain," interposed Nina, earnestly, "it was no alligator. I
heard the bushes rustling near the landing-place."
"Yes," said Dain, after listening awhile. "It cannot be
Babalatchi, who would come in a big war canoe, and openly. Those
that are coming, whoever they are, do not wish to make much
noise. But you have heard, and now I can see," he went on
quickly. "It is but one man. Stand behind me, Nina. If he is a
friend he is welcome; if he is an enemy you shall see him die."
He laid his hand on his kriss, and awaited the approach of his
unexpected visitor. The fire was burning very low, and small
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 The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin by Benjamin Franklin: and fir'd it as soon as fix'd, to let the Indians know, if any
were within hearing, that we had such pieces; and thus our fort,
if such a magnificent name may be given to so miserable a stockade,
was finish'd in a week, though it rain'd so hard every other day
that the men could not work.
This gave me occasion to observe, that, when men are employ'd, they
are best content'd; for on the days they worked they were good-natur'd
and cheerful, and, with the consciousness of having done a good
day's work, they spent the evening jollily; but on our idle days
they were mutinous and quarrelsome, finding fault with their pork,
the bread, etc., and in continual ill-humor, which put me in mind
The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin |
