| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Rescue by Joseph Conrad: fires. They waved their arms and talked together, stopping from
time to time; they approached Daman; and the short man with the
hair on his face addressed him earnestly and at great length.
Daman sat crosslegged upon a little carpet with an open Koran on
his knees and chanted the versets swaying to and fro with his
eyes shut.
The Illanun chiefs reclining wrapped in cloaks on the ground
raised themselves on their elbows to look at the whites. When the
short white man finished speaking he gazed down at them for a
while, then stamped his foot. He looked angry because no one
understood him. Then suddenly he looked very sad; he covered his
The Rescue |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Time Machine by H. G. Wells: except during my night's anguish at the loss of the Time Machine,
I had felt a sustaining hope of ultimate escape, but that hope
was staggered by these new discoveries. Hitherto I had merely
thought myself impeded by the childish simplicity of the little
people, and by some unknown forces which I had only to understand
to overcome; but there was an altogether new element in the
sickening quality of the Morlocks--a something inhuman and
malign. Instinctively I loathed them. Before, I had felt as a
man might feel who had fallen into a pit: my concern was with
the pit and how to get out of it. Now I felt like a beast in a
trap, whose enemy would come upon him soon.
The Time Machine |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from From London to Land's End by Daniel Defoe: here are a good number of fishing vessels for the pilchard trade,
and abundance of skilful fishermen. It was from this town that in
the great storm which happened November 27, 1703, a ship laden with
tin was blown out to sea and driven to the Isle of Wight in seven
hours, having on board only one man and two boys. The story is as
follows:-
"The beginning of the storm there lay a ship laden with tin in
Helford Haven, about two leagues and a half west of Falmouth. The
tin was taken on board at a place called Guague Wharf, five or six
miles up the river, and the vessel was come down to Helford in
order to pursue her voyage to London.
|
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 Return of Tarzan by Edgar Rice Burroughs: championing him."
"I do not champion him, Raoul," she interrupted vehemently.
"I believe that I hate him as much as you do, but--Oh, Raoul,
blood is thicker than water."
"I should today have liked to sample the consistency of
his," growled De Coude grimly. "The two deliberately
attempted to besmirch my honor, Olga," and then he told her
of all that had happened in the smoking-room. "Had it
not been for this utter stranger, they had succeeded, for who
would have accepted my unsupported word against the damning
evidence of those cards hidden on my person? I had almost
The Return of Tarzan |
