| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Jerusalem Delivered by Torquato Tasso: I
The sacred armies, and the godly knight,
That the great sepulchre of Christ did free,
I sing; much wrought his valor and foresight,
And in that glorious war much suffered he;
In vain 'gainst him did Hell oppose her might,
In vain the Turks and Morians armed be:
His soldiers wild, to brawls and mutinies prest,
Reduced he to peace, so Heaven him blest.
II
O heavenly Muse, that not with fading bays
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Finished by H. Rider Haggard: have lived through all these things and will in time recover,
though not yet."
"I hope so, Zikali, though on the whole I am not sure that I wish
to recover."
"Yes, you do, Macumazahn, because the religion of you white men
makes you fear death and what may come after it. You think of
what you call your sins and are afraid lest you should be
tortured because of them, not understanding that the spirit must
be judged not by what the flesh has done but by what the spirit
desired to do, by _will_ not by _deed,_ Macumazahn. The evil man
is he who wishes to do evil, not he who wishes to do good and
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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 Dreams & Dust by Don Marquis: No doubt the ordered songs are sweet
Each worthy angel sings;
And doubtless it is wise to heed
The ordered words of Kings;
But how the heart leaps up to greet
The headlong, rebel flight,
Whenas some reckless meteor
Blazes across the night!
Some comet--Byron--Lucifer--
Has dared to Be, and fight!
No doubt but it is safe to dwell
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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 Jolly Corner by Henry James: he had left open, and by that window, be long ladder and dangling
rope as absent as they would, he saw himself uncontrollably
insanely fatally take his way to the street. The hideous chance of
this he at least could avert; but he could only avert it by
recoiling in time from assurance. He had the whole house to deal
with, this fact was still there; only he now knew that uncertainty
alone could start him. He stole back from where he had checked
himself - merely to do so was suddenly like safety - and, making
blindly for the greater staircase, left gaping rooms and sounding
passages behind. Here was the top of the stairs, with a fine large
dim descent and three spacious landings to mark off. His instinct
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