| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Letters of Two Brides by Honore de Balzac: lo! my works of art are ruined! We had to take them back and change
their things. I took the little one in my arms, never thinking of my
own dress, which was ruined, while Mary seized Armand, and the
cavalcade re-entered. With a crying baby and a soaked child, what mind
has a mother left for herself?
Dinner time arrives, and as a rule I have done nothing. Now comes the
problem which faces me twice every day--how to suffice in my own
person for two children, put on their bibs, turn up their sleeves, and
get them to eat. In the midst of these ever-recurring cares, joys, and
catastrophes, the only person neglected in the house is myself. If the
children have been naughty, often I don't get rid of my curl-papers
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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 Koran: And let not those who are niggard of what God has given them of
His grace, count that it is best for them;- nay, it is worse for them.
What they have been niggard of shall be a collar round their necks
upon the resurrection day. And God's is the heritage of the heavens
and the earth, and God of what ye do is well aware.
God heard the speech of those who said, 'Verily, God is poor and
we are rich.' We will write down what they said, and how they killed
the prophets undeservedly, and say, 'Taste ye the torment of burning;'
this shall they suffer for what their hands have sent on before;- for,
verily, God is no unjust one to His servants,- who say, 'Verily, God
has covenanted with us that we should not believe in an apostle
The Koran |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from The Snow Image by Nathaniel Hawthorne: in connection with the magnificent palace which he had built, and
which had long ago been turned into a hotel for the accommodation
of strangers, multitudes of whom came, every summer, to visit
that famous natural curiosity, the Great Stone Face. Thus, Mr.
Gathergold being discredited and thrown into the shade, the man
of prophecy was yet to come.
It so happened that a native-born son of the valley, many years
before, had enlisted as a soldier, and, after a great deal of
hard fighting, had now become an illustrious commander. Whatever
he may be called in history, he was known in camps and on the
battle-field under the nickname of Old Blood-and-Thunder. This
The Snow Image |
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 Scarecrow of Oz by L. Frank Baum: I told them all the things that went wrong, or never were
right, and because I told them how things ought to be. So
they brought me here and left me all alone, saying that
if I quarreled with myself, no one else would be made
unhappy. Absurd, wasn't it?"
"Seems to me," said Cap'n Bill, "those neighbors did
the proper thing."
"Well," resumed Pessim, "when I found myself King of
this island I was obliged to live upon fruits, and I
found many fruits growing here that I had never seen
before. I tasted several and found them good and
The Scarecrow of Oz |
