| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Adventure by Jack London: fella too much."
Sheldon nodded his head but did not look. Much as he had loved
Hughie Drummond, his death, and the funeral it entailed, seemed an
intolerable burden to add to what he was already sinking under. He
had a feeling--nay, it was a certitude--that all he had to do was
to shut his eyes and let go, and that he would die, sink into
immensity of rest. He knew it; it was very simple. All he had to
do was close his eyes and let go; for he had reached the stage
where he lived by will alone. His weary body seemed torn by the
oncoming pangs of dissolution. He was a fool to hang on. He had
died a score of deaths already, and what was the use of prolonging
|
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Life in the Iron-Mills by Rebecca Davis: Was known by that name in heaven. A homely body, coarsely
dressed in gray and white. Deborah (for Haley had let her in)
took notice of her. She watched them all--sitting on the end of
the pallet, holding his head in her arms with the ferocity of a
watch-dog, if any of them touched the body. There was no
meekness, no sorrow, in her face; the stuff out of which
murderers are made, instead. All the time Haley and the woman
were laying straight the limbs and cleaning the cell, Deborah
sat still, keenly watching the Quaker's face. Of all the crowd
there that day, this woman alone had not spoken to her,--only
once or twice had put some cordial to her lips. After they all
Life in the Iron-Mills |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Frankenstein by Mary Shelley: and when I return, I hope it will be with a lighter heart,
more congenial to your own temper.
Henry wished to dissuade me, but seeing me bent on this plan,
ceased to remonstrate. He entreated me to write often.
"I had rather be with you," he said, "in your solitary rambles,
than with these Scotch people, whom I do not know; hasten, then,
my dear friend, to return, that I may again feel myself
somewhat at home, which I cannot do in your absence."
Having parted from my friend, I determined to visit some remote
spot of Scotland and finish my work in solitude. I did not doubt
but that the monster followed me and would discover himself to me
Frankenstein |
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 Pagan and Christian Creeds by Edward Carpenter: rites, intended to express the excess of grief and joy at the
death and reappearance of the god, were wild even
to savagery, and the women who performed them were
hence known by the expressive names of Bacchae, Maenads,
and Thyiades. They wandered through woods and mountains,
their flying locks crowned with ivy or snakes, brandishing
wands and torches, to the hollow sounds of the drum,
or the shrill notes of the flute, with wild dances and
insane cries and jubilation.
[1] See Frazer's Golden Bough, Part IV, p. 229.
[2] The Golden Bough, Part II, Book II, p. 164.
Pagan and Christian Creeds |
