| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from This Side of Paradise by F. Scott Fitzgerald: "Oh."
Then again:
"Are you looking for work? Because there's lots of work," he
continued rather testily. "All this talk of lack of work. The
West is especially short of labor." He expressed the West with a
sweeping, lateral gesture. Amory nodded politely.
"Have you a trade?"
NoAmory had no trade.
"Clerk, eh?"
NoAmory was not a clerk.
"Whatever your line is," said the little man, seeming to agree
This Side of Paradise |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Out of Time's Abyss by Edgar Rice Burroughs: the latter was absolutely astounded to discover so wondrous
a creature among the hideous inhabitants of the City of
Human Skulls. For a moment the two looked at one another in
unconcealed consternation, and then Bradley spoke, using to
the best of his poor ability, the common tongue of Caspak.
"Who are you," he asked, "and from where do you come? Do not tell
me that you are a Wieroo."
"No," she replied, "I am no Wieroo." And she shuddered slightly as
she pronounced the word. "I am a Galu; but who and what are you?
I am sure that you are no Galu, from your garments; but you are
like the Galus in other respects. I know that you are not of
Out of Time's Abyss |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from An Open Letter on Translating by Dr. Martin Luther: finishing touches on it by saying "Without the works of the Law?"
Gal. 1 [2.16] says that "not by works of the law' (as well as in
many other places) for the phrase "without the works of the law"
is so sever offensive, and scandalous that no amount of revision
can help it. How much more might people learn from "that they
need not do any good works", when all they hear is about the
preaching about the works themselves, sated in such a clear
strong way: "No works", "without works", "not by works"! If it is
not offensive to preach "without works", "not by works"! If it is
not offensive to preach "without works", "not by works"!, "no
works", why is it offensive to preach "by faith alone"?
|
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 'Twixt Land & Sea by Joseph Conrad: his cap had fallen off his stomach and was lying on the floor. His
thick black eyebrows were knitted by a frown, while he looked at
her out of the corners of his eyes. And their sideways glance in
conjunction with the hooked nose, the whole bulky, ungainly,
sprawling person, struck Freya as so comically moody that, inwardly
discomposed as she was, she could not help smiling. She did her
best to give that smile a conciliatory character. She did not want
to provoke Heemskirk needlessly.
And the lieutenant, perceiving that smile, was mollified. It never
entered his head that his outward appearance, a naval officer, in
uniform, could appear ridiculous to that girl of no position - the
'Twixt Land & Sea |
