| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Tristram Shandy by Laurence Sterne: The natural remedy for this was, no doubt, to have his bridge fast only at
one end with hinges, so that the whole might be lifted up together, and
stand bolt upright--but that was rejected for the reason given above.
For a whole week after he was determined in his mind to have one of that
particular construction which is made to draw back horizontally, to hinder
a passage; and to thrust forwards again to gain a passage--of which sorts
your worship might have seen three famous ones at Spires before its
destruction--and one now at Brisac, if I mistake not;--but my father
advising my uncle Toby, with great earnestness, to have nothing more to do
with thrusting bridges--and my uncle foreseeing moreover that it would but
perpetuate the memory of the Corporal's misfortune--he changed his mind for
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Thuvia, Maid of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs: from their thoats--dragging down the huge thoats themselves,
and bringing consternation to all before them.
The numbers of the citizenry, too, was to their advantage,
for it seemed that scarce a warrior fell but his
place was taken by a score more, in such a constant
stream did they pour from the city's great gate.
And so it came, what with the ferocity of the banths
and the numbers of the bowmen, that at last the
Torquasians fell back, until presently the platform upon
which stood Carthoris and Thuvia lay directly in the
centre of the fight.
Thuvia, Maid of Mars |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Lady Chatterley's Lover by D. H. Lawrence: together on both sides. And if she wasn't coming to him, he wouldn't
track her down. He mustn't. He must go away, till she came.
He turned slowly, ponderingly, accepting again the isolation. He knew
it was better so. She must come to him: it was no use his trailing
after her. No use!
Mrs Bolton saw him disappear, saw his dog run after him.
'Well, well!' she said. 'He's the one man I never thought of; and the
one man I might have thought of. He was nice to me when he was a lad,
after I lost Ted. Well, well! Whatever would he say if he knew!'
And she glanced triumphantly at the already sleeping Clifford, as she
stepped softly from the room.
Lady Chatterley's Lover |
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 Ozma of Oz by L. Frank Baum: slats and as soon as she could get the water out of her eyes she saw
that the wind had ripped the cover from the coop, and the poor
chickens were fluttering away in every direction, being blown by the
wind until they looked like feather dusters without handles. The
bottom of the coop was made of thick boards, so Dorothy found she was
clinging to a sort of raft, with sides of slats, which readily bore up
her weight. After coughing the water out of her throat and getting
her breath again, she managed to climb over the slats and stand upon
the firm wooden bottom of the coop, which supported her easily enough.
"Why, I've got a ship of my own!" she thought, more amused than
frightened at her sudden change of condition; and then, as the coop
Ozma of Oz |
