| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Lily of the Valley by Honore de Balzac: Her little ears, perfect in shape, were, as she said herself, the ears
of a mother and a slave. In after days, when our hearts were one, she
would say to me, "Here comes Monsieur de Mortsauf"; and she was right,
though I, whose hearing is remarkably acute, could hear nothing.
Her arms were beautiful. The curved fingers of the hand were long, and
the flesh projected at the side beyond the finger-nails, like those of
antique statues. I should displease you, I know, if you were not
yourself an exception to my rule, when I say that flat waists should
have the preference over round ones. The round waist is a sign of
strength; but women thus formed are imperious, self-willed, and more
voluptuous than tender. On the other hand, women with flat waists are
The Lily of the Valley |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Country Doctor by Honore de Balzac: " 'Oh! master,' says she, 'my wallet is so heavy, and I am so tired,
that I badly want some good man to give me his arm' (sly thing, only
listen to her!) 'if I am to get back to my poor home.'
"Thereupon the brigand offers to go along with her, and she accepts
his offer. The fellow takes hold of her arm to see if she is afraid.
Not she! She does not tremble a bit, and walks quietly along. So there
they are, chatting away as nicely as possible, all about farming, and
the way to grow hemp, till they come to the outskirts of the town,
where the hunchback lived, and the brigand made off for fear of
meeting some of the sheriff's people. The woman reached her house at
mid-day, and waited there till her husband came home; she thought and
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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 Betty Zane by Zane Grey: supplies, and a large room for general use. The several sleeping rooms were on
the second floor, which was reached by a steep stairway.
The interior of a pioneer's rude dwelling did not reveal, as a rule, more than
bare walls, a bed or two, a table and a few chairs--in fact, no more than the
necessities of life. But Colonel Zane's house proved an exception to this.
Most interesting was the large room. The chinks between the logs had been
plastered up with clay and then the walls covered with white birch bark;
trophies of the chase, Indian bows and arrows, pipes and tomahawks hung upon
them; the wide spreading antlers of a noble buck adorned the space above the
mantel piece; buffalo robes covered the couches; bearskin rugs lay scattered
about on the hardwood floor. The wall on the western side had been built over
Betty Zane |
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 Commentary on the Epistle to the Galatians by Martin Luther: VERSE 17. Is therefore Christ the minister of sin?
This is Hebrew phraseology, also used by Paul in II Corinthians, chapter 3.
There Paul speaks of two ministers: The minister of the letter, and the
minister of the spirit; the minister of the Law, and the minister of grace;
the minister of death, and the minister of life. "Moses," says Paul, "is the
minister of the Law, of sin, wrath, death, and condemnation."
Whoever teaches that good works are indispensable unto salvation, that
to gain heaven a person must suffer afflictions and follow the example of
Christ and of the saints, is a minister of the Law, of sin, wrath, and of
death, for the conscience knows how impossible it is for a person to fulfill
the Law. Why, the Law makes trouble even for those who have the Holy
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