| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions by Edwin A. Abbot: Now I must introduce you to Solids, and reveal to you the plan
upon which they are constructed. Behold this multitude
of moveable square cards. See, I put one on another, not,
as you supposed, Northward of the other, but ON the other.
Now a second, now a third. See, I am building up a Solid
by a multitude of Squares parallel to one another. Now the Solid
is complete, being as high as it is long and broad,
and we call it a Cube."
"Pardon me, my Lord," replied I; "but to my eye the appearance is as
of an Irregular Figure whose inside is laid open to the view;
in other words, methinks I see no Solid, but a Plane such as
Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne: of the sea. But on the 8th, about noon, the fault took, towards the
south-east, a much gentler slope, one of about forty-five degrees.
Then the road became monotonously easy. It could not be otherwise,
for there was no landscape to vary the stages of our journey.
On Wednesday, the 15th, we were seven leagues underground, and had
travelled fifty leagues away from Snæfell. Although we were tired,
our health was perfect, and the medicine chest had not yet had
occasion to be opened.
My uncle noted every hour the indications of the compass, the
chronometer, the aneroid, and the thermometer the very same which he
has published in his scientific report of our journey. It was
Journey to the Center of the Earth |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Louis Lambert by Honore de Balzac: statements.
The most serious symptom had supervened a day or two before the
marriage. Louis had had some well-marked attacks of catalepsy. He had
once remained motionless for fifty-nine hours, his eyes staring,
neither speaking nor eating; a purely nervous affection, to which
persons under the influence of violent passion are liable; a rare
malady, but perfectly well known to the medical faculty. What was
really extraordinary was that Louis should not have had several
previous attacks, since his habits of rapt thought and the character
of his mind would predispose him to them. But his temperament,
physical and mental, was so admirably balanced, that it had no doubt
Louis Lambert |
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 Smalcald Articles by Dr. Martin Luther: confessed, and pay money. Now, we have heard above that this
contrition and confession are with them uncertain and
hypocrisy. Likewise, also no one knew what soul was in
purgatory, and if some were therein, no one knew which had
properly repented and confessed. Thus he took the precious
money [the Pope snatched up the holy pence], and comforted
them meanwhile with [led them to confidence in] his power and
indulgence, and [then again led them away from that and]
directed them again to their uncertain work.
If, now [although], there were some who did not believe
[acknowledge] themselves guilty of such actual sins in
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