| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Warlord of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs: and when I darkened my brows in disapproval of her words
she raised an appealing hand.
"Wait," she said. "It is a different love from mine--it is
the love of your princess, Dejah Thoris, for you that has taught
me what true love may be--what it should be, and how far from
real love was my selfish and jealous passion for you.
"Now I am different. Now could I love as Dejah Thoris loves,
and so my only happiness can be to know that you and she are once
more united, for in her alone can you find true happiness.
The Warlord of Mars |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Outlaw of Torn by Edgar Rice Burroughs: arrogant, as became a man of birth when dealing with
a low born knave.
"His Majesty has deigned to address you, sirrah,"
he said, withdrawing a parchment from his breast.
"And as you doubtless cannot read I will read the
King's commands to you."
"I can read," replied Norman of Torn, "whatever
the King can write. Unless it be," he added, "that the
King writes no better than he rules."
The messenger scowled angrily, crying:
"It ill becomes such a low fellow to speak thus
The Outlaw of Torn |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from The Time Machine by H. G. Wells: that restless energy, that with us is strength, would become
weakness. Even in our own time certain tendencies and desires,
once necessary to survival, are a constant source of failure.
Physical courage and the love of battle, for instance, are no
great help--may even be hindrances--to a civilized man. And
in a state of physical balance and security, power, intellectual
as well as physical, would be out of place. For countless years
I judged there had been no danger of war or solitary violence, no
danger from wild beasts, no wasting disease to require strength
of constitution, no need of toil. For such a life, what we
should call the weak are as well equipped as the strong, are
The Time Machine |
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 Mucker by Edgar Rice Burroughs: he have looked training with her bunch. She would have been
ashamed of him, and he couldn't have stood that. No, it was
better as it had turned out. He'd squared himself for the beast
he'd been to her, and he'd squared himself with Mallory, too.
At least they'd have only decent thoughts of him, dead; but
alive, that would be an entirely different thing. He would be in
the way. He would be a constant embarrassment to them all,
for they would feel that they'd have to be nice to him in
return for what he had done for them. The thought made the
mucker sick.
"I'd rather croak," he murmured.
The Mucker |
