| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Son of Tarzan by Edgar Rice Burroughs: would be within the hut. The black lowered his arms and relaxed.
Behind him was the frame work of the doorway. Often before had
it supported his sleepy head, and now he leaned back to enjoy
the forbidden pleasure of a cat nap.
But instead of the door frame his head and shoulders came in
contact with the warm flesh of a pair of living legs.
The exclamation of surprise that almost burst from his lips
was throttled in his throat by steel-thewed fingers that closed
about his windpipe with the suddenness of thought. The black
struggled to arise--to turn upon the creature that had seized
him--to wriggle from its hold; but all to no purpose. As he had
The Son of Tarzan |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Life on the Mississippi by Mark Twain: How do you reckon I can remember such a mess as that?'
'My boy, you've got to remember it. You've got to remember
the exact spot and the exact marks the boat lay in when we had
the shoalest water, in everyone of the five hundred shoal places
between St. Louis and New Orleans; and you mustn't get the shoal
soundings and marks of one trip mixed up with the shoal soundings
and marks of another, either, for they're not often twice alike.
You must keep them separate.'
When I came to myself again, I said--
'When I get so that I can do that, I'll be able to raise the dead,
and then I won't have to pilot a steamboat to make a living.
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| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from The Wheels of Chance by H. G. Wells: temperament, sir, is hell. Hell, I tell you. A contemplative
disposition and a phlegmatic temperament, all very well. But
energy and philosophy--!"
Mr. Hoopdriver looked as intelligent as he could, but said
nothing.
"There's no hurry, sir, none whatever. I came out for exercise,
gentle exercise, and to notice the scenery and to botanise. And
no sooner do I get on the accursed machine, than off I go hammer
and tongs; I never look to right or left, never notice a flower,
never see a view, get hot, juicy, red,--like a grilled chop. Here
I am, sir. Come from Guildford in something under the hour. WHY,
|
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 Tales of Unrest by Joseph Conrad: full of soldiers to talk to us of protection and peace. We answered
with caution and wisdom, for our villages were burnt, our stockades
weak, the people weary, and the weapons blunt. They came and went;
there had been much talk, but after they went away everything seemed
to be as before, only their ships remained in sight from our coast,
and very soon their traders came amongst us under a promise of
safety. My brother was a Ruler, and one of those who had given the
promise. I was young then, and had fought in the war, and Pata Matara
had fought by my side. We had shared hunger, danger, fatigue, and
victory. His eyes saw my danger quickly, and twice my arm had
preserved his life. It was his destiny. He was my friend. And he was
Tales of Unrest |
