| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Barlaam and Ioasaph by St. John of Damascus: I again clothe these in their coats of hide, and gird them about
with the covering of shame? But be assured that my companions
have no need of such things, but are content with their hard life
in the desert, and reckon it the truest luxury; and bestow thou
on the poor the money and garments which thou promisedst to give
unto our monks, and lay up for thyself, for the time to come,
treasure that cannot be stolen, and by the orisons of these poor
folk make God thine ally; for thus shalt thou employ thy riches
as an help toward noble things. Then also put on the whole
armour of the Spirit, having thy loins girt about with truth, and
having on the breast-plate of righteousness, and wearing the
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Eugenie Grandet by Honore de Balzac: Grandets knew better than to let the property go out of the family,
and that Mademoiselle Eugenie Grandet of Saumur would be married to
the son of Monsieur Grandet of Paris, a wealthy wholesale wine-
merchant. To this the Cruchotines and the Grassinists replied: "In the
first place, the two brothers have seen each other only twice in
thirty years; and next, Monsieur Grandet of Paris has ambitious
designs for his son. He is mayor of an arrondissement, a deputy,
colonel of the National Guard, judge in the commercial courts; he
disowns the Grandets of Saumur, and means to ally himself with some
ducal family,--ducal under favor of Napoleon." In short, was there
anything not said of an heiress who was talked of through a
Eugenie Grandet |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Tik-Tok of Oz by L. Frank Baum: wonderful and glorious light burst upon them. The
next moment they were all standing upon the edge
of the marvelous Metal Forest.
It lay under another mountain and occupied a
great domed cavern, the roof of which was higher
than a church steeple. In this space the
industrious nomes had built, during many years of
labor, the most beautiful forest in the world. The
trees--trunks, branches and leaves--were all of
solid gold, while the bushes and underbrush were
formed of filigree silver, virgin pure. The trees
Tik-Tok 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 The Divine Comedy (translated by H.F. Cary) by Dante Alighieri: With which it knits, as life in you is knit.
From its original nature full of joy,
The virtue mingled through the body shines,
As joy through pupil of the living eye.
From hence proceeds, that which from light to light
Seems different, and not from dense or rare.
This is the formal cause, that generates
Proportion'd to its power, the dusk or clear."
CANTO III
That sun, which erst with love my bosom warm'd
Had of fair truth unveil'd the sweet aspect,
The Divine Comedy (translated by H.F. Cary) |
