| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from A treatise on Good Works by Dr. Martin Luther: Look you, wretched man! if you have broken a leg, or the peril
of death overtakes you, you call upon God, this Saint and that,
and do not wait until your leg is healed, or the danger is past:
you are not so foolish as to think that God hears no one whose
leg is broken, or who is in bodily danger. Nay, you believe that
God shall hear most of all when you are in the greatest need and
fear. Why, then, are you so foolish here, where there is
immeasurably greater need and eternal hurt, and do not want to
ask for faith, hope, love, humility, obedience, chastity,
gentleness, peace, righteousness, unless you are already free of
all your unbelief, doubt, pride, disobedience, unchastity, anger,
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Tanach: Genesis 26: 22 And he removed from thence, and digged another well; and for that they strove not. And he called the name of it Rehoboth; and he said: 'For now the LORD hath made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land.'
Genesis 26: 23 And he went up from thence to Beer-sheba.
Genesis 26: 24 And the LORD appeared unto him the same night, and said: 'I am the God of Abraham thy father. Fear not, for I am with thee, and will bless thee, and multiply thy seed for My servant Abraham's sake.'
Genesis 26: 25 And he builded an altar there, and called upon the name of the LORD, and pitched his tent there; and there Isaac's servants digged a well.
Genesis 26: 26 Then Abimelech went to him from Gerar, and Ahuzzath his friend, and Phicol the captain of his host.
Genesis 26: 27 And Isaac said unto them: 'Wherefore are ye come unto me, seeing ye hate me, and have sent me away from you?'
Genesis 26: 28 And they said: 'We saw plainly that the LORD was with thee; and we said: Let there now be an oath betwixt us, even betwixt us and thee, and let us make a covenant with thee;
Genesis 26: 29 that thou wilt do us no hurt, as we have not touched thee, and as we have done unto thee nothing but good, and have sent thee away in peace; thou art now the blessed of the LORD.'
Genesis 26: 30 And he made them a feast, and they did eat and drink.
The Tanach |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from The Sportsman by Xenophon: [39] Or, "this is the true line at last."
[40] Al. "with a crash of tongues."
When at length the hounds show symptoms of fatigue, and it is already
late in the day, the time has come for the huntsman to look for his
hare that lies dead-beat; nor must he wittingly leave any patch of
green or clod of earth untested.[41] Backwards and forwards he must
try and try again the ground,[42] to be sure that nothing has been
overlooked. The fact is, the little creature lies in a small compass,
and from fatigue and fear will not get up. As he leads the hounds on
he will cheer and encourage them, addressing with many a soft term the
docile creature, the self-willed, stubborn brute more rarely, and to a
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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 Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson:
Treasure Island |
