| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Large Catechism by Dr. Martin Luther:
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
right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence He shall come to
judge the quick and the dead.
Here we learn to know the Second Person of the Godhead, so that we see
what we have from God over and above the temporal goods
aforementioned; namely, how He has completely poured forth Himself and
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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 Vicar of Tours by Honore de Balzac: as captain of a corvette in a coming promotion lately announced by the
minister of the Navy, received a letter from one of his friends
warning him that there was some intention of putting him on the
retired list. Greatly astonished by this information he started for
Paris immediately, and went at once to the minister, who seemed to be
amazed himself, and even laughed at the baron's fears. The next day,
however, in spite of the minister's assurance, Monsieur de Listomere
made inquiries in the different offices. By an indiscretion (often
practised by heads of departments in favor of their friends) one of
the secretaries showed him a document confirming the fatal news, which
was only waiting the signature of the director, who was ill, to be
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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 Phoenix and the Turtle by William Shakespeare: Be the death-defying swan,
Lest the requiem lack his right.
And thou, treble-dated crow,
That thy sable gender mak'st
With the breath thou giv'st and tak'st,
'Mongst our mourners shalt thou go.
Here the anthem doth commence:
Love and constancy is dead;
Phoenix and the turtle fled
In a mutual flame from hence.
So they lov'd, as love in twain
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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 The Return of Tarzan by Edgar Rice Burroughs: Russian evinced sufficient symptoms of returning consciousness
to open his eyes, and it was some time later before
they could bring him to a realization of their good fortune.
By this time the boat was scraping gently upon the sandy bottom.
Between the refreshing water that he had drunk and the
stimulus of renewed hope, Clayton found strength to stagger
through the shallow water to the shore with a line made
fast to the boat's bow. This he fastened to a small tree which
grew at the top of a low bank, for the tide was at flood, and
he feared that the boat might carry them all out to sea again
with the ebb, since it was quite likely that it would be beyond
The Return of Tarzan |
