| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from King James Bible: days.
KI1 14:31 And Rehoboam slept with his fathers, and was buried with his
fathers in the city of David. And his mother's name was Naamah an
Ammonitess. And Abijam his son reigned in his stead.
KI1 15:1 Now in the eighteenth year of king Jeroboam the son of Nebat
reigned Abijam over Judah.
KI1 15:2 Three years reigned he in Jerusalem. and his mother's name was
Maachah, the daughter of Abishalom.
KI1 15:3 And he walked in all the sins of his father, which he had done
before him: and his heart was not perfect with the LORD his God, as the
heart of David his father.
King James Bible |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Protagoras by Plato: could. But the truth is that I cannot. And what you ask is as great an
impossibility to me, as if you bade me run a race with Crison of Himera,
when in his prime, or with some one of the long or day course runners. To
such a request I should reply that I would fain ask the same of my own
legs; but they refuse to comply. And therefore if you want to see Crison
and me in the same stadium, you must bid him slacken his speed to mine, for
I cannot run quickly, and he can run slowly. And in like manner if you
want to hear me and Protagoras discoursing, you must ask him to shorten his
answers, and keep to the point, as he did at first; if not, how can there
be any discussion? For discussion is one thing, and making an oration is
quite another, in my humble opinion.
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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 Pagan and Christian Creeds by Edward Carpenter: The Dinkas, for instance, are a rather intelligent well-grown
people inhabiting the upper reaches of the Nile in the
vicinity of the great swamps. According to Dr. Seligman
their clans have for totems the lion, the elephant,
the crocodile, the hippopotamus, the fox, and the hyena,
as well as certain birds which infest and damage the
corn, some plants and trees, and such things as rain,
fire, etc. "Each clan speaks of its totem as its ancestor,
and refrains [as a rule] from injuring or eating it."[1] The
members of the Crocodile clan call themselves "brothers of
the crocodile." The tribes of Bechuana-land have a very
Pagan and Christian Creeds |
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 Options by O. Henry: Hackenschmidt, and Hetty Green. He was shown into the editor-
colonel's pons asinorum. Colonel Telfair rose and began a Prince
Albert bow.
"I'm Thacker," said the intruder, taking the editor's chair--"T. T.
Thacker, of New York."
He dribbled hastily upon the colonel's desk some cards, a bulky manila
envelope, and a letter from the owners of The Rose of Dixie. This
letter introduced Mr. Thacker, and politely requested Colonel Telfair
to give him a conference and whatever information about the magazine
he might desire.
"I've been corresponding with the secretary of the magazine owners for
Options |
