| 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: a truly common prayer.
XIII. The power of this prayer we see in the fact that in olden
times Abraham prayed for the five cities, Sodom, Gomorrah, etc.,
Genesis xviii, and accomplished so much, that if there had been
ten righteous people in them, two in each city, God would not
have destroyed them. What then could many men do, if they united
in calling upon God earnestly and with sincere confidence?
St. James also says: "Dear brethren, pray for one another, that
ye may be saved. For the prayer of a righteous man availeth much,
a prayer that perseveres and does not cease" (that is, which does
not cease asking ever more and more, although what it asks is not
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Bureaucracy by Honore de Balzac: know yourself. Rabourdin is a man who could be of immense service to
you in such a career; he could do the steady work while you were in
the Chamber. Just as you dream of the ministry, so I dream of seeing
Rabourdin in the Council of State, and general director. It is
therefore my object to draw together two men who can never injure,
but, on the contrary, must greatly help each other. Isn't that a
woman's mission? If you are friends, you will both rise the faster,
and it is surely high time that each of you made hay. I have burned my
ships," she added, smiling. "But you are not as frank with me as I
have been with you."
"You would not listen to me if I were," he replied, with a melancholy
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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 Court Life in China by Isaac Taylor Headland: Peking, and none more important than the dinners and luncheons
given to the princes and high officials, and also to the
princesses and ladies of the court. In 1904, I was invited to
dine with Major Conger and help entertain Prince Chun, Prince Pu
Lun, Prince Ching, Governor Hu, Na T'ung, and a number of other
princes and officials of high rank. I sat between Prince Chun and
Governor Hu. Having met them both on several former occasions, I
was not a stranger to either of them, and as they were well
acquainted with each other, though one was a Manchu prince and
the other a Chinese official, conversation was easy and natural.
We talked, of course, in Chinese only, of the improvements and
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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 Shadow Line by Joseph Conrad: then went about hauling the ropes tight. Of the
four men I had with me at night, I could see now
only two. I didn't inquire as to the others. They
had given in. For a time only I hoped.
Our various tasks forward occupied us for hours,
the two men with me moved so slow and had to
rest so often. One of them remarked that "every
blamed thing in the ship felt about a hundred times
heavier than its proper weight." This was the
only complaint uttered. I don't know what we
should have done without Ransome. He worked
The Shadow Line |
