| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Men of Iron by Howard Pyle: acquire knightly arts shrewdly quick when the time cometh to
learn them."
But hard and grinding as Myles's life was, it was not entirely
without pleasures. There were many boys living in Crosbey-Dale
and the village; yeomen's and farmers' sons, to be sure, but,
nevertheless, lads of his own age, and that, after all, is the
main requirement for friendship in boyhood's world. Then there
was the river to bathe in; there were the hills and valleys to
roam over, and the wold and woodland, with their wealth of nuts
and birds'-nests and what not of boyhood's treasures.
Once he gained a triumph that for many a day was very sweet under
Men of Iron |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Camille by Alexandre Dumas: of April; the weather was fine, the graves were not likely to
look as sad and desolate as they do in winter; in short, it was
warm enough for the living to think a little of the dead, and pay
them a visit. I went to the cemetery, saying to myself: "One
glance at Marguerite's grave, and I shall know if Armand's sorrow
still exists, and perhaps I may find out what has become of him."
I entered the keeper's lodge, and asked him if on the 22nd of
February a woman named Marguerite Gautier had not been buried in
the Montmartre Cemetery. He turned over the pages of a big book
in which those who enter this last resting-place are inscribed
and numbered, and replied that on the 22nd of February, at 12
Camille |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Gettysburg Address by Abraham Lincoln: We have come to dedicate a portion of that field as a final resting place
for those who here gave their lives that this nation might live.
It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.
But, in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate. . .we cannot consecrate. . .
we cannot hallow this ground. The brave men, living and dead,
who struggled here have consecrated it, far above our poor power
to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember,
what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here.
It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished
work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced.
It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining
|
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 Time Machine by H. G. Wells: know of a pattering about me. I pushed on grimly. The pattering
grew more distinct, and then I caught the same queer sound and
voices I had heard in the Under-world. There were evidently
several of the Morlocks, and they were closing in upon me.
Indeed, in another minute I felt a tug at my coat, then something
at my arm. And Weena shivered violently, and became quite still.
`It was time for a match. But to get one I must put her down.
I did so, and, as I fumbled with my pocket, a struggle began in
the darkness about my knees, perfectly silent on her part and
with the same peculiar cooing sounds from the Morlocks. Soft
little hands, too, were creeping over my coat and back, touching
The Time Machine |
