| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Barlaam and Ioasaph by St. John of Damascus: Now he rejoiceth, now he grieveth, requiring meat and drink and
raiment. Besides he is passionate, envious, lustful, fickle, and
full of failings: and he perisheth in many a way, by the
elements, by wild beasts, and by the death that ever awaiteth
him. So Man cannot be a god, but only the work of God. Great
then is the error that the Chaldeans have erred in following
their own lusts; for they worship corruptible elements and dead
images, neither do they perceive that they are making gods of
these.
"Now come we to the Greeks that we may see whether they have any
understanding concerning God. The Greeks, then, professing
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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 The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas: as to the cause of his emotion; he looked expressively at
the newspaper I had been reading. `What is the matter, dear
grandfather?' said I, `are you pleased?' He gave me a sign
in the affirmative. `With what my father said just now?' He
returned a sign in the negative. `Perhaps you liked what M.
Danglars said?' Another sign in the negative. `Oh, then, you
were glad to hear that M. Morrel (I didn't dare to say
Maximilian) had been made an officer of the Legion of
Honor?' He signified assent; only think of the poor old
man's being so pleased to think that you, who were a perfect
stranger to him, had been made an officer of the Legion of
 The Count of Monte Cristo |