| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Koran: See how we have preferred some of them over others, but in the
next life are greater degrees and greater preference.
Put not with God other gods, or thou wilt sit despised and forsaken.
Thy Lord has decreed that ye shall not serve other than Him; and
kindness to one's parents, whether one or both of them reach old age
with thee; and say not to them, 'Fie!' and do not grumble at them, but
speak to them a generous speech. And lower to them the wing of
humility out of compassion, and say, 'O Lord! have compassion on
them as they brought me up when I was little!' Your Lord knows best
what is in your souls if ye be righteous, and, verily, He is forgiving
unto those who come back penitent.
The Koran |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Seraphita by Honore de Balzac: to a man when desired' ('Angelic Wisdom'); for the Angel has the gift
of detaching himself from his body, and he sees into heaven as the
prophets and as Swedenborg himself saw into it. 'In this state,'
writes Swedenborg ('True Religion,' 136), 'the spirit of a man may
move from one place to another, his body remaining where it is,--a
condition in which I lived for over twenty-six years.' It is thus that
we should interpret all Biblical statements which begin, 'The Spirit
led me.' Angelic Wisdom is to human wisdom what the innumerable forces
of nature are to its action, which is one. All things live again, and
move and have their being in the Spirit, which is in God. Saint Paul
expresses this truth when he says, 'In Deo sumus, movemur, et
Seraphita |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from A Heap O' Livin' by Edgar A. Guest: could always last,
For the love that's in their faces and their laugh-
ter ringing clear
Is their dad's most precious present when the
Christmas time is near.
And soon as it is over, when the tree is bare
and plain,
I shall start in looking forward to the time to
guess again.
UNDERSTANDING
When I was young and frivolous and never
A Heap O' Livin' |
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 A Sentimental Journey by Laurence Sterne: Mais vive la joie! et toute la mienne sera de penser e vous.
L'amour n'est RIEN sans sentiment.
Et le sentiment est encore MOINS sans amour.
On dit qu'on ne doit jamais se desesperer.
On dit aussi que Monsieur le Caporal monte la garde Mercredi: alors
ce cera mon tour.
CHACUN E SON TOUR.
En attendant - Vive l'amour! et vive la bagatelle!
Je suis, Madame,
Avec tous les sentimens les plus respectueux et les plus tendres,
tout e vous,
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