| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from A Child's Garden of Verses by Robert Louis Stevenson: Grasses hid my hiding place;
Grasses run like a green sea
O'er the lawn up to my knee.
Under grass alone he lies,
Looking up with leaden eyes,
Scarlet coat and pointed gun,
To the stars and to the sun.
When the grass is ripe like grain,
When the scythe is stoned again,
When the lawn is shaven clear,
The my hole shall reappear.
A Child's Garden of Verses |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Within the Tides by Joseph Conrad: dark shapes rushing about the deck. These shots were returned, and
a rapid fusillade burst out, reports and flashes, Davidson dodging
behind a ventilator and pulling the trigger till his revolver
clicked, and then throwing it down to take the other in his right
hand.
"He had been hearing in the din the Frenchman's infuriated yells
'TUEZ-LE! TUEZ-LE!' above the fierce cursing of the others. But
though they fired at him they were only thinking of clearing out.
In the flashes of the last shots Davidson saw them scrambling over
the rail. That he had hit more than one he was certain. Two
different voices had cried out in pain. But apparently none of
Within the Tides |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Child of Storm by H. Rider Haggard: this time, he was not destined to find the coveted egg. But of that
matter I will speak in its place.
I, too, looked at those cattle, wondering whether Saduko would remember
our bargain, under which some six hundred head of them belonged to me.
Six hundred head! Why, putting them at #5 apiece all round--and as oxen
were very scarce just at that time, they were worth quite as much, if
not more--that meant #3,000, a larger sum of money than I had ever owned
at one time in all my life. Truly the paths of violence were
profitable! But would he remember? On the whole I thought probably
not, since Kafirs are not fond of parting with cattle.
Well, I did him an injustice, for presently he turned and said, with
Child of Storm |
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 A treatise on Good Works by Dr. Martin Luther: displeasure, loss and danger for the truth's sake; and so God's
Commandment must perish. And this is almost universally the way
of the world. He who would keep this Commandment, would have both
hands full doing only those good works which concern the tongue.
And then, how many are there who allow themselves to be silenced
and swerved aside from the truth by presents and gifts! so that
in all places it is truly a high, great, rare work, not to be a
false witness against one's neighbor.
II. There is a second bearing of witness to the truth, which is
still greater, with which we must fight against the evil spirits;
and this concerns not temporal matters, but the Gospel and the
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