| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Master of the World by Jules Verne: River.
What would the torpedo destroyers do? Presumably, they would maneuver
so as to seek to shut the "Terror" within the narrowing end of the
lake where the Niagara offered her no passage.
Our captain now took the helm. One of the men was at the bow, the
other in the engine room. Would the order be given for me to go down
into the cabin?
It was not, to my extreme satisfaction. To speak frankly, no one paid
any attention to me. It was as if I had not been on board. I watched,
therefore, not without mixed emotions, the approach of the
destroyers. Less than two miles distant now they separated in such a
|
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift: and to remove the hair from my chin, which was intended as a
shelter from the sun and the weather: lastly, that I could
neither run with speed, nor climb trees like my brethren," as he
called them, "the YAHOOS in his country.
"That our institutions of government and law were plainly owing
to our gross defects in reason, and by consequence in virtue;
because reason alone is sufficient to govern a rational creature;
which was, therefore, a character we had no pretence to
challenge, even from the account I had given of my own people;
although he manifestly perceived, that, in order to favour them,
I had concealed many particulars, and often said the thing which
Gulliver's Travels |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from 1984 by George Orwell: loose from the chair. It was hopeless; every part of him, even his head,
was held immovably. O'Brien moved the cage nearer. It was less than a
metre from Winston's face.
'I have pressed the first lever,' said O'Brien. 'You understand the
construction of this cage. The mask will fit over your head, leaving no
exit. When I press this other lever, the door of the cage will slide up.
These starving brutes will shoot out of it like bullets. Have you ever
seen a rat leap through the air? They will leap on to your face and bore
straight into it. Sometimes they attack the eyes first. Sometimes they
burrow through the cheeks and devour the tongue.'
The cage was nearer; it was closing in. Winston heard a succession of
1984 |
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 A Personal Record by Joseph Conrad: the other side of the fence. . . .
At this stage of the narrative, which I heard many times (by
request) from the lips of Captain Nicholas B.'s sister-in-law, my
grandmother, I used to tremble with excitement.
The dog barked. And if he had done no more than bark, three
officers of the Great Napoleon's army would have perished
honourably on the points of Cossacks' lances, or perchance
escaping the chase would have died decently of starvation. But
before they had time to think of running away that fatal and
revolting dog, being carried away by the excess of the zeal,
dashed out through a gap in the fence. He dashed out and died.
A Personal Record |
