| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Master Key by L. Frank Baum: change the direction of his flight, but the only result of his
endeavor was to carry him directly over the fire, where he came to a
full stop.
"Murder! Help! Fire and blazes!" he cried, as he felt the glow of
the coals beneath him. "I'll be roasted, after all! Here; help,
Fatty, help!"
The fat chief sprang to his feet and came to the rescue. He reached
up, caught Rob by the heels, and pulled him down to the ground, away
from the fire. But the next moment, as he clung to the boy's feet,
they both soared into the air again, and, although now far enough from
the fire to escape its heat, the savage, finding himself lifted from
The Master Key |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Hated Son by Honore de Balzac: "I shall come for your answer to-morrow," said the baron.
"I will consult my father," she replied.
"You will not see him again. I have received orders to arrest him and
send him in chains, under escort, to Rouen," said d'Artagnon, leaving
Gabrielle dumb with terror.
The young girl sprang to the house, and found Etienne horrified by the
silence of the nurse in answer to his question, "Where is she?"
"I am here!" cried the young girl, whose voice was icy, her step
heavy, her color gone.
"What has happened?" he said. "I heard you cry."
"Yes, I hurt my foot against--"
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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 The Augsburg Confession by Philip Melanchthon: made Me a judge or a divider over you? Paul also says, Phil.
3, 20: Our citizenship is in heaven; 2 Cor. 10, 4: The weapons
of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the
casting down of imaginations.
After this manner our teachers discriminate between the duties
of both these powers, and command that both be honored and
acknowledged as gifts and blessings of God.
If bishops have any power of the sword, that power they have,
not as bishops, by the commission of the Gospel, but by human
law having received it of kings and emperors for the civil
administration of what is theirs. This, however, is another
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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 Off on a Comet by Jules Verne: of the fact that both Ceuta and Gibraltar have been traversing
the solar regions on the surface of a comet."
The major smiled incredulously; but Servadac, nothing daunted,
went on to detail the results of the collision between the comet
and the earth, adding that, as there was the almost immediate
prospect of another concussion, it had occurred to him that it
might be advisable for the whole population of Gallia to unite
in taking precautionary measures for the common welfare.
"In fact, Major Oliphant," he said in conclusion, "I am here
to inquire whether you and your friends would be disposed to join
us in our present quarters."
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