| 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: the district or been developed by the aging of one of the many
lions who ranged the plains and hills by night, or lay up in the
cool wood by day. He had heard the roaring of a hungry lion
not half an hour before, and there was little doubt in his mind
but that the man eater was stalking Meriem and Baynes. He cursed
the Englishman for a fool, and spurred rapidly after them.
Meriem and Baynes had drawn up in a small, natural clearing.
A hundred yards beyond them Numa lay crouching in the underbrush,
his yellow-green eyes fixed upon his prey, the tip of his sinuous
tail jerking spasmodically. He was measuring the distance
between him and them. He was wondering if he dared venture
The Son of Tarzan |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Menexenus by Plato: one another out of malice or enmity, but they were unfortunate. And that
such was the fact we ourselves are witnesses, who are of the same race with
them, and have mutually received and granted forgiveness of what we have
done and suffered. After this there was perfect peace, and the city had
rest; and her feeling was that she forgave the barbarians, who had severely
suffered at her hands and severely retaliated, but that she was indignant
at the ingratitude of the Hellenes, when she remembered how they had
received good from her and returned evil, having made common cause with the
barbarians, depriving her of the ships which had once been their salvation,
and dismantling our walls, which had preserved their own from falling. She
thought that she would no longer defend the Hellenes, when enslaved either
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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 Taras Bulba and Other Tales by Nikolai Vasilievich Gogol: Oumansky kuren, leaving his men and going to the place where the
nobleman killed by Kukubenko lay. "I have killed seven nobles with my
own hand, but such spoil I never beheld on any one." Prompted by
greed, Borodaty bent down to strip off the rich armour, and had
already secured the Turkish knife set with precious stones, and taken
from the foe's belt a purse of ducats, and from his breast a silver
case containing a maiden's curl, cherished tenderly as a love-token.
But he heeded not how the red-faced cornet, whom he had already once
hurled from the saddle and given a good blow as a remembrance, flew
upon him from behind. The cornet swung his arm with all his might, and
brought his sword down upon Borodaty's bent neck. Greed led to no
Taras Bulba and Other Tales |
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 Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath by H. P. Lovecraft: Though Nath-Horthath is chiefly worshipped in Celephais, all the
Great Ones are mentioned in diurnal prayers; and the priest was
reasonably versed in their moods. Like Atal in distant Ulthar,
he strongly advised against any attempts to see them; declaring
that they are testy and capricious, and subject to strange protection
from the mindless Other Gods from Outside, whose soul and messenger
is the crawling chaos Nyarlathotep. Their jealous hiding of the
marvellous sunset city shewed clearly that they did not wish Carter
to reach it, and it was doubtful how they would regard a guest
whose object was to see them and plead before them. No man had
ever found Kadath in the past, and it might be just as well if
The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath |
