| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Second Inaugural Address by Abraham Lincoln: to those by whom the offense came, shall we discern therein any
departure from those divine attributes which the believers in a
living God always ascribe to him? Fondly do we hope--fervently
do we pray--that this mighty scourge of war may speedily pass away.
Yet, if God wills that it continue until all the wealth piled by
the bondsman's two hundred and fifty years of unrequited toil
shall be sunk, and until every drop of blood drawn by the lash
shall be paid by another drawn with the sword, as was said
three thousand years ago, so still it must be said, "The
judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether."
With malice toward none; with charity for all; with firmness in
Second Inaugural Address |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Nada the Lily by H. Rider Haggard: Faku, the captain, a great and brave man, shouted to them, "Stand
firm, children of the king, stand firm, these are no Esedowana, these
are but the Wolf-Brethren and their pack. What! will ye run from dogs,
ye who have laughed at the spears of men? Ring round! Stand fast!"
The soldiers heard the voice of their captain, and they obeyed his
voice, forming a double circle, a ring within a ring. They looked to
the right, there, Groan-Maker aloft, the wolf fangs on his brow, the
worn wolf-hide streaming on the wind, Bulalio rushed upon them like a
storm, and with him came his red-eyed company. They looked to the left
--ah, well they know that mighty Watcher! Have they not heard his
strokes down by the river, and well they know the giant who wields it
Nada the Lily |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne: though still on its upward slope, already overshadowed the
soberer reputations of his fellow-clergymen, eminent as several
of them were. There are scholars among them, who had spent more
THE INTERIOR OF A HEART 171
years in acquiring abstruse lore, connected with the divine
The Scarlet Letter |
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 Rasselas, Prince of Abyssinia by Samuel Johnson: thenceforward let subordination cease, and live together as friends
and partners, for he shall be always equal with me who is equally
skilled in the art of growing rich.'
"We laid out our money upon camels, concealed in bales of cheap
goods, and travelled to the shore of the Red Sea. When I cast my
eye on the expanse of waters, my heart bounded like that of a
prisoner escaped. I felt an inextinguishable curiosity kindle in
my mind, and resolved to snatch this opportunity of seeing the
manners of other nations, and of learning sciences unknown in
Abyssinia.
"I remembered that my father had obliged me to the improvement of
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