| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Shadow out of Time by H. P. Lovecraft: and stared fascinatedly at the well-known hieroglyphs on the cover.
It seemed to be in prime condition, and the curvilinear letters
of the title held me in almost as hypnotised a state as if I could
read them. Indeed, I cannot swear that I did not actually read
them in some transient and terrible access of abnormal memory.
I do not know how long it was before I dared to lift that thin
metal cover. I temporized and made excuses to myself. I took the
torch from my mouth and shut it off to save the battery. Then,
in the dark, I collected my courage finally lifting the cover
without turning on the light. Last of all, I did indeed flash
the torch upon the exposed page - steeling myself in advance to
Shadow out of Time |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Forged Coupon by Leo Tolstoy: life; his father, his mother, the village, the dog
"Wolf," the old grandfather lying on the stove,
the bench on which the children used to play; then
the girls in the village with their songs, his horses
and how they had been stolen, and how the thief
was caught and how he killed him with a stone.
He recollected also the first prison he was in and
his leaving it, and the fat innkeeper, the carter's
wife and the children. Then again SHE came to
his mind and again he was terrified. Throwing
his prison overcoat off his shoulders, he jumped
The Forged Coupon |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions by Edwin A. Abbot: of a physical Dimension, but of a Thoughtland whence, in theory,
a Figure could look down upon Flatland and see simultaneously
the insides of all things, and where it was possible that there might
be supposed to exist a Figure environed, as it were, with six Squares,
and containing eight terminal Points. But in writing this book
I found myself sadly hampered by the impossibility of drawing
such diagrams as were necessary for my purpose; for of course,
in our country of Flatland, there are no tablets but Lines,
and no diagrams but Lines, all in one straight Line
and only distinguishable by difference of size and brightness;
so that, when I had finished my treatise (which I entitled,
Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions |
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 Underground City by Jules Verne: as this," answered Harry.
"Oh, Harry! Harry!" exclaimed the maiden, "what can that red
glow on the horizon be? Is it a forest on fire?"
"No, it is the rising moon, Nell."
"To be sure, that's the moon," cried Jack Ryan, "a fine
big silver plate, which the spirits of air hand round and round
the sky to collect the stars in, like money."
"Why, Jack," said the engineer, laughing, "I had no idea you
could strike out such bold comparisons!"
"Well, but, Mr. Starr, it is a just comparison. Don't you see
the stars disappear as the moon passes on? so I suppose they
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