| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Virginibus Puerisque by Robert Louis Stevenson: his spirit. Not for him the mild luminous evening of the
temperate walker! He has nothing left of man but a physical
need for bedtime and a double nightcap; and even his pipe, if
he be a smoker, will be savourless and disenchanted. It is
the fate of such an one to take twice as much trouble as is
needed to obtain happiness, and miss the happiness in the end;
he is the man of the proverb, in short, who goes further and
fares worse.
Now, to be properly enjoyed, a walking tour should be
gone upon alone. If you go in a company, or even in pairs, it
is no longer a walking tour in anything but name; it is
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Disputation of the Power and Efficacy of Indulgences by Dr. Martin Luther: predicandas verbum dei in aliis ecclesiis penitus silere iubent.
4. [54] Iniuria fit verbo dei, dum in eodem sermone equale vel
longius tempus impenditur veniis quam illi.
5. [55] Mens Pape necessario est, quod, si venie (quod minimum
est) una campana, unis pompis et ceremoniis celebrantur,
Euangelium (quod maximum est) centum campanis, centum pompis,
centum ceremoniis predicetur.
6. [56] Thesauri ecclesie, unde Pape dat indulgentias, neque satis
nominati sunt neque cogniti apud populum Christi.
7. [57] Temporales certe non esse patet, quod non tam facile eos
profundunt, sed tantummodo colligunt multi concionatorum.
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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 Men of Iron by Howard Pyle: lawn and a stone-paved terrace. As the Earl and the two young men
approached the end of the walk, they were met by the sound of
voices and laughter, the clinking of glasses and the rattle of
dishes. Turning a corner, they came suddenly upon a party of
young gentlemen, who sat at a late breakfast under the shade of a
wide-spreading lime-tree. They had evidently just left the
tilt-yard, for two of the guests--sturdy, thick-set young
knights--yet wore a part of their tilting armor.
Behind the merry scene stood the gray, hoary old palace, a steep
flight of stone steps, and a long, open, stone-arched gallery,
which evidently led to the kitchen beyond, for along it hurried
Men of Iron |
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 Wrong Box by Stevenson & Osbourne: especially the label.
'This is the strangest thing that ever happened,' she said, with
another burst of laughter. 'It is certainly Morris's handwriting,
and I had a letter from him only this morning, telling me to
expect a barrel. Is there a barrel coming too, do you think, Mr
Forsyth?'
"'Statuary with Care, Fragile,'" read Gideon aloud from the
painted warning on the box. 'Then you were told nothing about
this?'
'No,' responded Julia. 'O, Mr Forsyth, don't you think we might
take a peep at it?'
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