| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Complete Poems of Longfellow by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow: Not the sun that used to be,
Not the tides that used to run.
THE CHALLENGE
I have a vague remembrance
Of a story, that is told
In some ancient Spanish legend
Or chronicle of old.
It was when brave King Sanchez
Was before Zamora slain,
And his great besieging army
Lay encamped upon the plain.
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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 Foolish Virgin by Thomas Dixon: inspiration--new faith--new courage to fight. Will
you?"
She extended her hand.
"Yes."
"And you will agree to follow my instructions?"
"Absolutely."
"Good. We begin from this moment. I give you my
first orders. Forget that James Anthony ever lived.
Forget the tragedy of Christmas Eve. You are going to
be a mother. All other events in life pale before this
fact. God has conferred on you the highest honor
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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 Captain Stormfield by Mark Twain: fully as well known as the eighty Supreme Archangels, in fact -
where as our Moses, and Adam, and the rest, have not been heard of
outside of our world's little corner of heaven, except by a few
very learned men scattered here and there - and they always spell
their names wrong, and get the performances of one mixed up with
the doings of another, and they almost always locate them simply IN
OUR SOLAR SYSTEM, and think that is enough without going into
little details such as naming the particular world they are from.
It is like a learned Hindoo showing off how much he knows by saying
Longfellow lives in the United States - as if he lived all over the
United States, and as if the country was so small you couldn't
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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 Egmont by Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe: past from Dunkirk. They did not help us much, 'tis true; they could only
approach with their smallest vessels, and that not near enough; --besides,
their shot fell sometimes among our troops. It did some good, however! It
broke the French lines, and raised our courage. Away it went. Helter-
skelter! topsy-turvy! all struck dead, or forced into the water; the fellows
were drowned the moment they tasted the water, while we Hollanders
dashed in after them. Being amphibious, we were as much in our element
as frogs, and hacked away at the enemy, and shot them down as if they
had been ducks. The few who struggled through, were struck dead in their
flight by the peasant women, armed with hoes and pitchforks. His Gallic
majesty was compelled at once to hold out his paw and make peace. And
Egmont |
