| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Lesser Bourgeoisie by Honore de Balzac: doors of which, placed opposite to each other, light it. This room,
paved in black and white marble, is especially noticeable for a
ceiling of beams formerly painted and gilt, but which had since
received, probably under the Empire, a coat of plain white paint. The
three doors of the study, salon and dining-room, surmounted by oval
panels, are awaiting a restoration that is more than needed. The wood-
work is heavy, but the ornamentation is not without merit. The salon,
panelled throughout, recalls the great century by its tall mantelpiece
of Languedoc marble, its ceiling decorated at the corners, and by the
style of its windows, which still retain their little panes. The
dining-room, communicating with the salon by a double door, is floored
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Letters from England by Elizabeth Davis Bancroft: father of the present Lord. Lady Braybrooke is the daughter of the
Marquis of Cornwallis, and granddaughter of our American Lord
Cornwallis.
The house is of the Elizabethan period and is one of the best
preserved specimens of that style, but of its vast extent and
magnificence I can give you no idea. We arrived about five o'clock,
and were ushered through an immense hall of carved oak hung with
banners up a fine staircase to the grand saloon, where we were
received by the host and hostess. Now of this grand saloon I must
try to give you a conception. It was, I should think, from seventy-
five to one hundred feet in length. The ceiling overhead was very
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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 Commentary on the Epistle to the Galatians by Martin Luther: over me; thy terrors have cut me off." (Psalm 88 16.) By Christ's salvation
we have been delivered from the terrors of God to a life of eternal felicity.
VERSE 14. That the blessing of Abraham might come, on the Gentiles
through Jesus Christ.
Paul always keeps this text before him: "In thy seed shall all the nations of
the earth be blessed." The blessing promised unto Abraham could come
upon the Gentiles only by Christ, the seed of Abraham. To become a
blessing unto all nations Christ had to be made a curse to take away the
curse from the nations of the earth. The merit that we plead, and the work
that we proffer is Christ who was made a curse for us.
Let us become expert in the art of transferring our sins, our death, and
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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 Alcibiades I by Plato: ALCIBIADES: Very true.
SOCRATES: And when the Athenians and Lacedaemonians and Boeotians fell at
Tanagra, and afterwards in the battle of Coronea, at which your father
Cleinias met his end, the question was one of justice--this was the sole
cause of the battles, and of their deaths.
ALCIBIADES: Very true.
SOCRATES: But can they be said to understand that about which they are
quarrelling to the death?
ALCIBIADES: Clearly not.
SOCRATES: And yet those whom you thus allow to be ignorant are the
teachers to whom you are appealing.
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