| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Sons of the Soil by Honore de Balzac: BEST, as our fathers used to say, and expect nothing, not even
glory, except as a happy accident.
It was in rushing to retake this famous cemetery for the third
time that Massena, wounded and carried in the box of a cabriolet,
made this splendid harangue to his soldiers: "What! you rascally
curs, who have only five sous a day while I have forty thousand,
do you let me go ahead of you?" All the world knows the order
which the Emperor sent to his lieutenant by M. de Sainte-Croix,
who swam the Danube three times: "Die or retake the village; it is
a question of saving the army; the bridges are destroyed."
The Author.
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from At the Mountains of Madness by H. P. Lovecraft: there, but indifferent and unseeing. The black tunnel yawned indefinitely
off at a steep, descending grade, its aperture adorned with grotesquely
chiseled jambs and lintel. From that cryptical mouth we fancied
a current of slightly warmer air, and perhaps even a suspicion
of vapor proceeded; and we wondered what living entities other
than penguins the limitless void below, and the contiguous honeycombings
of the land and the titan mountains, might conceal. We wondered,
too, whether the trace of mountaintop smoke at first suspected
by poor Lake, as well as the odd haze we had ourselves perceived
around the rampart-crowned peak, might not be caused by the tortuous-channeled
rising of some such vapor from the unfathomed regions of earth’s
At the Mountains of Madness |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from The Iliad by Homer: the pain he suffered as he did so. Then he sprang on to his
chariot and bade the charioteer drive him to the ships, for he
was sick at heart.
Ulysses was now alone; not one of the Argives stood by him, for
they were all panic-stricken. "Alas," said he to himself in his
dismay, "what will become of me? It is ill if I turn and fly
before these odds, but it will be worse if I am left alone and
taken prisoner, for the son of Saturn has struck the rest of the
Danaans with panic. But why talk to myself in this way? Well do I
know that though cowards quit the field, a hero, whether he wound
or be wounded, must stand firm and hold his own."
The Iliad |
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 Dream Life and Real Life by Olive Schreiner: married to the best, noblest, most large-hearted of men. We are now in
Florence together. You don't know how beautiful all life is to me. I know
now that the old passion was only a girl's foolish dream. My husband is
the first man I have ever truly loved. He loves me and understands me as
no other man ever could. I am thankful that my dream was broken; God had
better things in store for me. I don't hate that woman any more; I love
every one! How are you, dear? We shall come and see you as soon as we
arrive in England. I always think of you so happy in your great work and
helping other people. I don't think now it is terrible to be a woman; it
is lovely.
"I hope you are enjoying this beautiful spring weather.
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