| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Soul of a Bishop by H. G. Wells: "Am I not here beside you?"
(5)
The bishop was anxious to be very clear. Things that had been
shapelessly present in his mind now took form and found words for
themselves.
"The God I saw in my vision--He is not yet manifest in the
world?"
"He comes. He is in the world, but he is not yet manifested. He
whom you saw in your vision will speedily be manifest in the
world. To you this vision is given of the things that come. The
world is already glowing with God. Mankind is like a smouldering
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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 Large Catechism by Dr. Martin Luther: a most excellent knowledge, but a far greater treasure. For here we see
how the Father has given Himself to us, together with all creatures,
and has most richly provided for us in this life, besides that He has
overwhelmed us with unspeakable, eternal treasures by His Son and the
Holy Ghost, as we shall hear.
Article II.
And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the
Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary; suffered under Pontius Pilate, was
crucified, dead, and buried; He descended into hell; the third day He
rose again from the dead; He ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the
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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 The Hated Son by Honore de Balzac: which he read; he looked with amazement, but without envy, at courts
and kings, battles, men, and buildings. These daylight dreams made
dearer to him his precious flowers, his clouds, his sun, his granite
rocks. To attach him the more to his solitary existence, an angel
seemed to reveal to him the abysses of the moral world and the
terrible shocks of civilization. He felt that his soul, if torn by the
throng of men, would perish like a pearl dropped from the crown of a
princess into mud.
PART II
HOW THE SON DIED
CHAPTER IV
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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 Sarrasine by Honore de Balzac: itself. Sarrasine was beloved!
" 'If it is a mere caprice,' he thought, already accusing his mistress
of too great ardor, 'she does not know the sort of domination to which
she is about to become subject. Her caprice will last, I trust, as
long as my life.'
"At that moment, three light taps on the door of his box attracted the
artist's attention. He opened the door. An old woman entered with an
air of mystery.
" 'Young man,' she said, 'if you wish to be happy, be prudent. Wrap
yourself in a cloak, pull a broad-brimmed hat over your eyes, and be
on the Rue du Corso, in front of the Hotel d'Espagne, about ten
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