| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Vision Splendid by William MacLeod Raine: Pacific Coast. She had invested the few hundreds left her in some
river-bottom lots at Verden and had later discovered that an
unscrupulous real estate dealer had unloaded upon her worthless
property. The patched and threadbare clothes of the boy told him
that from a worldly point of view the affairs of the Farnums were
at ebb tide.
"Did . . . did you know father very well?" Jeff asked tremulously.
Chunn looked down at the thin dark face of the boy walking beside
him and was moved to lay a hand on his shoulder. He understood the
ache in that little heart to hear about the father who was a hero
to him. Jeff was of no importance in the alien world about him.
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Ebb-Tide by Stevenson & Osbourne: haste to bring forward a dessert of island tobacco and rolls of
pandanus leaf to serve as paper; and presently all sat about the
dishes puffing like Indian Sachems.
'When a man 'as breakfast every day, he don't know what it
is,' observed the clerk.
'The next point is dinner,' said Herrick; and then with a
passionate utterance: 'I wish to God I was a Kanaka!'
'There's one thing sure,' said the captain. 'I'm about desperate,
I'd rather hang than rot here much longer.' And with the
word he took the accordion and struck up. 'Home, sweet home.'
'O, drop that!' cried Herrick, 'I can't stand that.'
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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 Lamentable Tragedy of Locrine and Mucedorus by William Shakespeare: sirrah, where she is.
MOUSE.
O sir, she is run down the woods: I see her white
head and her white belly.
SEGASTO.
Thou talkest of wonders, to tell me of white bears.
But, sirra, didst thou ever see any such?
MOUSE.
No, faith, I never saw any such, but I remember
my father's words: he bade me take heed I was
not caught with a white bear.
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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 The Large Catechism by Dr. Martin Luther: stability of all government and honorable, peaceable relations on
earth.
There he causes so much contention, murder, sedition, and war also
lightning and hail to destroy grain and cattle, to poison the air, etc.
In short, he is sorry that any one has a morsel of bread from God and
eats it in peace; and if it were in his power, and our prayer (next to
God) did not prevent him, we would not keep a straw in the field, a
farthing in the house, yea, not even our life for an hour, especially
those who have the Word of God and would like to be Christians.
Behold, thus God wishes to indicate to us how He cares for us in all
our need, and faithfully provides also for our temporal support. and
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