| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Barlaam and Ioasaph by St. John of Damascus: for them that have put off the corruption of the old man, and, as
far as possible, cast away the robe of disobedience, and put on
Christ as a coat of salvation and garment of gladness, how shall
I again clothe these in their coats of hide, and gird them about
with the covering of shame? But be assured that my companions
have no need of such things, but are content with their hard life
in the desert, and reckon it the truest luxury; and bestow thou
on the poor the money and garments which thou promisedst to give
unto our monks, and lay up for thyself, for the time to come,
treasure that cannot be stolen, and by the orisons of these poor
folk make God thine ally; for thus shalt thou employ thy riches
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Door in the Wall, et. al. by H. G. Wells: towards the switch in the shadow and turned the current into the
railway circuit again. As he did so the singed body loosened its
grip upon the machine and fell forward on its face. The core of
the dynamo roared out loud and clear, and the armature beat the
air.
So ended prematurely the Worship of the Dynamo Deity, perhaps
the most short-lived of all religions. Yet withal it could at
least boast a Martyrdom and a Human Sacrifice.
THE COUNTRY OF THE BLIND
Three hundred miles and more from Chimborazo, one hundred from the
snows of Cotopaxi, in the wildest wastes of Ecuador's Andes, there
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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 Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson:
Treasure Island |
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 Gods of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs: I breathed a sigh of relief. I had not been discovered, and,
best of all, the party was the same that I had followed into
the pits. It consisted of Tars Tarkas and his three guards.
I fell in behind them and soon we were at the cell in which
the great Thark had been chained. Two of the warriors remained
without while the man with the keys entered with the Thark
to fasten his irons upon him once more. The two outside
started to stroll slowly in the direction of the spiral
runway which led to the floors above, and in a moment were
lost to view beyond a turn in the corridor.
The torch had been stuck in a socket beside the door, so
The Gods of Mars |
