| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Tin Woodman of Oz by L. Frank Baum: "But, listen, Nimmie Amee!" said the astonished Woot;
"he really is both of them, for he is made of their
cast-off parts."
"Oh, you're quite wrong," declared Polychrome,
laughing, for she was greatly enjoying the confusion of
the others. "The tin men are still themselves, as they
will tell you, and so Chopfyt must be someone else."
They looked at her bewildered, for the facts in the
case were too puzzling to be grasped at once.
"It is all the fault of old Ku-Klip," muttered the
Tin Woodman. "He had no right to use our castoff parts
The Tin Woodman of Oz |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Beyond Good and Evil by Friedrich Nietzsche: 288. There are men who are unavoidably intellectual, let them
turn and twist themselves as they will, and hold their hands
before their treacherous eyes--as though the hand were not a
betrayer; it always comes out at last that they have something
which they hide--namely, intellect. One of the subtlest means of
deceiving, at least as long as possible, and of successfully
representing oneself to be stupider than one really is--which in
everyday life is often as desirable as an umbrella,--is called
ENTHUSIASM, including what belongs to it, for instance, virtue.
For as Galiani said, who was obliged to know it: VERTU EST
ENTHOUSIASME.
Beyond Good and Evil |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from The Case of the Registered Letter by Grace Isabel Colbron and Augusta Groner: of the disorder lay the body of the murdered man, now cold in the
rigour of death.
The police commissioner arrived soon, took possession of the rooms,
and made a thorough examination of the premises. A letter found
on the desk gave another proof, if such were needed, that this was
not a case of suicide. This letter was in the handwriting of the
dead man, and read as follows:
Dear Friend:
I appreciate greatly all the kindness shown me by yourself and your
good wife. I have been more successful than I thought possible in
overcoming the obstacles you know of. Therefore, I shall be very
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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 Idylls of the King by Alfred Tennyson: And many more when Modred raised revolt,
Forgetful of their troth and fealty, clave
To Modred, and a remnant stays with me.
And of this remnant will I leave a part,
True men who love me still, for whom I live,
To guard thee in the wild hour coming on,
Lest but a hair of this low head be harmed.
Fear not: thou shalt be guarded till my death.
Howbeit I know, if ancient prophecies
Have erred not, that I march to meet my doom.
Thou hast not made my life so sweet to me,
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