| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Jerusalem Delivered by Torquato Tasso: Defends, whom God preserves, and holds so dear;
For thee heaven fights, to thee the winds, from far,
Called with thy trumpet's blast, obedient are!
LXXXVII
But wicked Ismen to his harm that saw
How the fierce blast drove back the fire and flame,
By art would nature change, and thence withdraw
Those noisome winds, else calm and still the same;
'Twixt two false wizards without fear or awe
Upon the walls in open sight he came,
Black, grisly, loathsome, grim and ugly faced,
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Barlaam and Ioasaph by St. John of Damascus: that they should shortly be at one, never to be parted more. But
Ioasaph, unable to impose fresh labours on the elder, and to
restrain his desire to be on his way, and suspecting moreover
that the man Zardan might make known his case to the King and
subject him to punishment, said unto Barlaam, "Since it seemeth
thee good, my spiritual father, best of teachers and minister of
all good to me, to leave me to live in the vanity of the world,
while thou journeyest to thy place of spiritual rest, I dare no
longer let and hinder thee. Depart therefore, with the peace of
God for thy guardian, and ever in thy worthy prayers, for the
Lord's sake, think upon my misery, that I may be enabled to
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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 At the Mountains of Madness by H. P. Lovecraft: not to flee for our lives after that; since our conclusions were
now - notwithstanding their wildness - completely fixed, and of
a nature I need not even mention to those who have read my account
as far as this. Perhaps we were mad - for have I not said those
horrible peaks were mountains of madness? But I think I can detect
something of the same spirit - albeit in a less extreme form -
in the men who stalk deadly beasts through African jungles to
photograph them or study their habits. Half paralyzed with terror
though we were, there was nevertheless fanned within us a blazing
flame of awe and curiosity which triumphed in the end.
Of course
At the Mountains of Madness |
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 A Footnote to History by Robert Louis Stevenson: martial law, and Mr. Fletcher will be arrested if he does not
appear." Here, then, was the gauntlet thrown down, and de
Coetlogon was burning to accept it. Fletcher's offence was this.
Upon the 22nd a steamer had come in from Wellington, specially
chartered to bring German despatches to Apia. The rumour came
along with her from New Zealand that in these despatches Knappe
would find himself rebuked, and Fletcher was accused of having
"interested himself in the spreading of this rumour." His arrest
was actually ordered, when Hand succeeded in persuading him to
surrender. At the German court, the case was dismissed "WEGEN
NICHTIGKEIT"; and the acute stage of these distempers may be said
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