| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Ozma of Oz by L. Frank Baum: a shudder.
"I thought he was hon-est, but I was mis-tak-en," remarked Tiktok.
"My thoughts are us-u-al-ly cor-rect, but it is Smith & Tin-ker's
fault if they some-times go wrong or do not work prop-er-ly."
"Smith & Tinker made a very good job of you," said Ozma, kindly. "I
do not think they should be blamed if you are not quite perfect."
"Thank you," replied Tiktok.
"Then," said Billina, in her brisk little voice, "let us all go back
to the Nome King, and see what he has to say for himself."
So they started for the entrance, Ozma going first, with the Queen and
her train of little Princes and Princesses following. Then came
Ozma of Oz |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Tanach: Jeremiah 42: 8 Then called he Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces that were with him, and all the people from the least even to the greatest,
Jeremiah 42: 9 and said unto them: 'Thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel, unto whom ye sent me to present your supplication before Him:
Jeremiah 42: 10 If ye will still abide in this land, then will I build you, and not pull you down, and I will plant you, and not pluck you up; for I repent Me of the evil that I have done unto you. Jeremiah 42: 11 Be not afraid of the king of Babylon, of whom ye are afraid; be not afraid of him, saith the LORD; for I am with you to save you, and to deliver you from his hand.
Jeremiah 42: 12 And I will grant you compassion, that he may have compassion upon you, and cause you to return to your own land.
Jeremiah 42: 13 But if ye say: We will not abide in this land; so that ye hearken not to the voice of the LORD your God;
Jeremiah 42: 14 saying: No; but we will go into the land of Egypt, where we shall see no war, nor hear the sound of the horn, nor have hunger of bread; and there will we abide;
Jeremiah 42: 15 now therefore hear ye the word of the LORD, O remnant of Judah: Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: If ye wholly set your faces to enter into Egypt, and go to sojourn there;
Jeremiah 42: 16 then it shall come to pass, that the sword, which ye fear, shall overtake you there in the land of Egypt, and the famine, whereof ye are afraid, shall follow hard after you there in Egypt; and there ye shall die.
The Tanach |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from The Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum: At noon they sat down by the roadside, near a little brook,
and Dorothy opened her basket and got out some bread. She offered
a piece to the Scarecrow, but he refused.
"I am never hungry," he said, "and it is a lucky thing I am not,
for my mouth is only painted, and if I should cut a hole in it so
I could eat, the straw I am stuffed with would come out, and that
would spoil the shape of my head."
Dorothy saw at once that this was true, so she only nodded and
went on eating her bread.
"Tell me something about yourself and the country you came from,"
said the Scarecrow, when she had finished her dinner. So she told him
The Wizard of Oz |
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 Early Short Fiction of Edith Wharton by Edith Wharton: specialized staff of responsibilities. It was the more to be
regretted that Mrs. Ballinger, whose obligations to society were
bounded by the narrow scope of two parlour-maids, should have
been so tenacious of the right to entertain Osric Dane.
The question of that lady's reception had for a month past
profoundly moved the members of the Lunch Club. It was not that
they felt themselves unequal to the task, but that their sense of
the opportunity plunged them into the agreeable uncertainty of
the lady who weighs the alternatives of a well-stocked wardrobe.
If such subsidiary members as Mrs. Leveret were fluttered by the
thought of exchanging ideas with the author of "The Wings of
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