| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Ivanhoe by Walter Scott: words, _Drinc hael_, and partook of a cup which
was handed to him by the sewer. The same courtesy
was offered to Ivanhoe, who pledged his father
in silence, supplying the usual speech by an inclination
of his head, lest his voice should have been
recognised.
When this introductory ceremony was performed,
Cedric arose, and, extending his hand to Richard,
conducted him into a small and very rude chapel,
which was excavated, as it were, out of one of the
external buttresses. As there was no opening,
Ivanhoe |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Odyssey by Homer: stranger, even so should I get much honour and good luck
among men both now and ever hereafter, if after bringing
thee to my hut and giving thee a stranger's cheer, I should
turn again and slay thee and take away thy dear life. Eager
indeed thereafter should I be to make a prayer to Zeus the
son of Cronos! But now it is supper-time, and would that my
fellows may speedily be at home, that we may make ready a
dainty supper within the hut.'
Thus they spake one to the other. And lo, the swine and the
swineherds drew nigh. And the swine they shut up to sleep
in their lairs, and a mighty din arose as the swine were
The Odyssey |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Herbert West: Reanimator by H. P. Lovecraft: awful; Hill was unrecognisable afterward, but the wreck yielded
up the great surgeon in a nearly decapitated but otherwise intact
condition. West had greedily seized the lifeless thing which had
once been his friend and fellow-scholar; and I shuddered when
he finished severing the head, placed it in his hellish vat of
pulpy reptile-tissue to preserve it for future experiments, and
proceeded to treat the decapitated body on the operating table.
He injected new blood, joined certain veins, arteries, and nerves
at the headless neck, and closed the ghastly aperture with engrafted
skin from an unidentified specimen which had borne an officer’s
uniform. I knew what he wanted -- to see if this highly organised
Herbert West: Reanimator |
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 Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne: XXXVIII THE PROFESSOR IN HIS CHAIR AGAIN
XXXIX FOREST SCENERY ILLUMINATED BY ELECTRICITY
XL PREPARATIONS FOR BLASTING A PASSAGE
TO THE CENTRE OF THE EARTH
XLI THE GREAT EXPLOSION AND THE RUSH DOWN BELOW
XLII HEADLONG SPEED UPWARD THROUGH THE HORRORS OF DARKNESS
XLIII SHOT OUT OF A VOLCANO AT LAST!
XLIV SUNNY LANDS IN THE BLUE MEDITERRANEAN
XLV ALL'S WELL THAT ENDS WELL
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A JOURNEY INTO THE INTERIOR OF THE EARTH
Journey to the Center of the Earth |
