| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Varieties of Religious Experience by William James: some medical man.
Here is an analogous case from Starbuck's manuscript
collection:--
"I went into the old Adelphi Theatre, where there was a Holiness
meeting, . . . and I began saying, 'Lord, Lord, I must have this
blessing.' Then what was to me an audible voice said: 'Are you
willing to give up everything to the Lord?' and question after
question kept coming up, to all of which I said: 'Yes, Lord;
yes, Lord!' until this came: 'Why do you not accept it NOW?' and
I said: 'I do, Lord.'--I felt no particular joy, only a trust.
Just then the meeting closed, and, as I went out on the street, I
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Tarzan of the Apes by Edgar Rice Burroughs: For an instant the scene was ludicrous; but only for an instant.
With a volley of awful oaths, his face suffused with the
scarlet of mortification and rage, the captain regained his
feet, and with a terrific blow felled the sailor to the deck.
The man was small and rather old, so that the brutality of
the act was thus accentuated. The other seaman, however,
was neither old nor small--a huge bear of a man, with fierce
black mustachios, and a great bull neck set between massive
shoulders.
As he saw his mate go down he crouched, and, with a low
snarl, sprang upon the captain crushing him to his knees with
Tarzan of the Apes |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from House of Seven Gables by Nathaniel Hawthorne: his encircling arms, and Alice--whose figure, though flexible, had
been wholly impassive--relapsed into the same attitude as before these
attempts to arouse her. Maule having shifted his position, her face
was turned towards him slightly, but with what seemed to be a reference
of her very slumber to his guidance.
Then it was a strange sight to behold how the man of conventionalities
shook the powder out of his periwig; how the reserved and stately
gentleman forgot his dignity; how the gold-embroidered waistcoat
flickered and glistened in the firelight with the convulsion of rage,
terror, and sorrow in the human heart that was beating under it.
"Villain!" cried Mr. Pyncheon, shaking his clenched fist at Maule.
House of Seven Gables |
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 Master of the World by Jules Verne: I rose and took from my desk the letter of June thirteenth. I
compared it with the facsimile in the newspapers. There was no doubt
about it. They were both in the same peculiar hand-writing.
My mind worked eagerly. I sought to trace the probable deductions
from this striking fact, known only to myself. The man who had
threatened me was the commander of this "Terror" -- startling name,
only too well justified! I asked myself if our search could not now
be prosecuted under less vague conditions. Could we not now start our
men upon a trail which would lead definitely to success? In short,
what relation existed between the "Terror" and the Great Eyrie? What
connection was there between the phenomena of the Blueridge
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