| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Devil's Dictionary by Ambrose Bierce: I wish that they did not; yet, on the whole,
You lack -- excuse my mentioning it -- Soul.
So, to be candid, unreserved and true,
I'd rather you were I than I were you.
Perhaps, however, in a time to be,
When Man's extinct, a better world may see
Your progeny in power and control,
Due to the genesis and growth of Soul.
So I salute you as a reptile grand
Predestined to regenerate the land.
Father of Possibilities, O deign
The Devil's Dictionary |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Thus Spake Zarathustra by Friedrich Nietzsche: Lo! am I then a dog?"--And thereupon the sitting one got up, and pulled
his naked arm out of the swamp. For at first he had lain outstretched on
the ground, hidden and indiscernible, like those who lie in wait for swamp-
game.
"But whatever art thou about!" called out Zarathustra in alarm, for he saw
a deal of blood streaming over the naked arm,--"what hath hurt thee? Hath
an evil beast bit thee, thou unfortunate one?"
The bleeding one laughed, still angry, "What matter is it to thee!" said
he, and was about to go on. "Here am I at home and in my province. Let
him question me whoever will: to a dolt, however, I shall hardly answer."
"Thou art mistaken," said Zarathustra sympathetically, and held him fast;
Thus Spake Zarathustra |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Miracle Mongers and Their Methods by Harry Houdini: At the breaking out of the cholera in 1832
he turned Doctor, and appended M.D., to
his name, and suddenly his newspaper
advertisements claimed for him the title of
the celebrated Fire King, the curer of
consumption, the maker of Chinese
Lotion, etc.
While the Doctor was at the height of
his popularity, some wag perpetrated the
following joke in a newspaper paragraph:
``During some experiments he was making
Miracle Mongers and Their Methods |
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 Little Britain by Washington Irving: Row, Amen Corner, and Ave Maria Lane, looks down with an
air of motherly protection.
This quarter derives its appellation from having been, in
ancient times, the residence of the Dukes of Brittany. As
London increased, however, rank and fashion rolled off to the
west, and trade, creeping on at their heels, took possession of
their deserted abodes. For some time Little Britain became the
great mart of learning, and was peopled by the busy and
prolific race of booksellers; these also gradually deserted it,
and, emigrating beyond the great strait of Newgate Street,
settled down in Paternoster Row and St. Paul's Churchyard,
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