| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Oscar Wilde Miscellaneous by Oscar Wilde: And mine the pearls that the Arabian seas
Store in their silent caverns.
Generous Prince,
This night shall prove the herald of my love,
Which is so great that whatsoe'er you ask
It will not be denied you.
GUIDO. What if I asked
For white Bianca here?
SIMONE. You jest, my Lord;
She is not worthy of so great a Prince.
She is but made to keep the house and spin.
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Almayer's Folly by Joseph Conrad: waiting for Bulangi's return; and Taminah, supporting herself by
the slimy pile, felt as if a heavy weight was crushing her down,
down into the black oily water at her feet. She wanted to cry
out; to rush at them and tear their vague shadows apart; to throw
Nina into the smooth water, cling to her close, hold her to the
bottom where that man could not find her. She could not cry, she
could not move. Then footsteps were heard on the bamboo platform
above her head; she saw Bulangi get into his smallest canoe and
take the lead, the other boat following, paddled by Dain and
Nina. With a slight splash of the paddles dipped stealthily into
the water, their indistinct forms passed before her aching eyes
Almayer's Folly |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Ballads by Robert Louis Stevenson: Of the shadow on the household and the son that went to sea;
And O the wicked fool I seemed, in every kind of way,
To be here and hauling frozen ropes on blessed Christmas Day.
They lit the high sea-light, and the dark began to fall.
"All hands to loose topgallant sails," I heard the captain call.
"By the Lord, she'll never stand it," our first mate, Jackson, cried.
. . . "It's the one way or the other, Mr. Jackson," he replied.
She staggered to her bearings, but the sails were new and good,
And the ship smelt up to windward just as though she understood.
As the winter's day was ending, in the entry of the night,
We cleared the weary headland, and passed below the light.
Ballads |
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 Taras Bulba and Other Tales by Nikolai Vasilievich Gogol: nobleman consisted simply in this: viz., in making me a witness of
unpleasant occurrences; for it is well known that no man goes into a
shed, much less into a goose-shed, for polite purposes. In the
execution of his lawless deed, the two front posts trespassed on my
land, received by me during the lifetime of my father, Ivan
Pererepenko, son of Onisieff, of blessed memory, beginning at the
granary, thence in a straight line to the spot where the women wash
the pots.
"3. The above-described nobleman, whose very name and surname inspire
thorough disgust, cherishes in his mind a malicious design to burn me
in my own house. Which the infallible signs, hereinafter mentioned,
Taras Bulba and Other Tales |
