| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Phoenix and the Turtle by William Shakespeare: And thou, treble-dated crow,
That thy sable gender mak'st
With the breath thou giv'st and tak'st,
'Mongst our mourners shalt thou go.
Here the anthem doth commence:
Love and constancy is dead;
Phoenix and the turtle fled
In a mutual flame from hence.
So they lov'd, as love in twain
Had the essence but in one;
Two distincts, division none:
|
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from King James Bible: NUM 24:18 And Edom shall be a possession, Seir also shall be a
possession for his enemies; and Israel shall do valiantly.
NUM 24:19 Out of Jacob shall come he that shall have dominion, and
shall destroy him that remaineth of the city.
NUM 24:20 And when he looked on Amalek, he took up his parable, and
said, Amalek was the first of the nations; but his latter end shall be
that he perish for ever.
NUM 24:21 And he looked on the Kenites, and took up his parable, and
said, Strong is thy dwellingplace, and thou puttest thy nest in a rock.
NUM 24:22 Nevertheless the Kenite shall be wasted, until Asshur shall
carry thee away captive.
King James Bible |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Letters of Two Brides by Honore de Balzac: have their share in the rapture which transports us--ah! then there is
no falling to earth, rather it is to heaven we soar, alas! for only
too brief a visit.
Such, dear soul, is the philosophy of the first three months of my
married life. Felipe is angelic. Without figure of speech, he is
another self, and I can think aloud with him. His greatness of soul
passes my comprehension. Possession only attaches him more closely to
me, and he discovers in his happiness new motives for loving me. For
him, I am the nobler part of himself. I can foresee that years of
wedded life, far from impairing his affection, will only make it more
assured, develop fresh possibilities of enjoyment, and bind us in more
|
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 An International Episode by Henry James: and rows of spreading trees, and beyond which there was a large
shady square, without any palings, and with marble-paved walks.
And above the vivid verdure rose other facades of white marble and of
pale chocolate-colored stone, squaring themselves against the deep
blue sky. Here, outside, in the light and the shade and the heat,
there was a great tinkling of the bells of innumerable streetcars,
and a constant strolling and shuffling and rustling of many pedestrians,
a large proportion of whom were young women in Pompadour-looking dresses.
Within, the place was cool and vaguely lighted, with the plash of water,
the odor of flowers, and the flitting of French waiters, as I have said,
upon soundless carpets.
|
