| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from An Open Letter on Translating by Dr. Martin Luther: acknowledge me as a workman with integrity. I do not care about
the papists, as they are not good enough to acknowledge my work
and, if they were to bless me, it would break my heart. I may be
insulted by their highest praise and honor, but I will still be a
doctor, even a distinguished one. I am certain that they shall
never take from me until the final day.
Yet I have not just gone ahead, ignoring the exact wording in the
original. Instead, with great care, I have, along with my
helpers, gone ahead and have kept literally to the original,
without the slightest deviation, wherever it appeared that a
passage was crucial. For instance, in John 6 Christ says: "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 Hated Son by Honore de Balzac: because he had suffered much and meditated much, passed quickly
through the regions occupied by common passions and went beyond it.
Like all enfeebled natures, they were quickly penetrated by Faith, by
that celestial glow which doubles strength by doubling the soul. For
them their sun was always at its meridian. Soon they had that divine
belief in themselves which allows of neither jealousy nor torment;
abnegation was ever ready, admiration constant.
Under these conditions, love could have no pain. Equal in their
feebleness, strong in their union, if the noble had some superiority
of knowledge and some conventional grandeur, the daughter of the
physician eclipsed all that by her beauty, by the loftiness of her
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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 Verses 1889-1896 by Rudyard Kipling: (And we hope he'll understand).
We've drunk as much as we're able,
And the Cross swings low for the morn;
Last toast -- and your foot on the table! --
A health to the Native-born!
A health to the Native-born (Stand up!),
We're six white men arow,
All bound to sing o' the little things we care about,
All bound to fight for the little things we care about
With the weight of a six-fold blow!
Verses 1889-1896 |
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 Redheaded Outfield by Zane Grey: box and put in Vane, their best pitcher. Bogart
advanced the runner to second, but was thrown
out on the play. Then Rube came up. He swung
a huge bat and loomed over the Bison's twirler.
Rube had the look of a hitter. He seemed to be
holding himself back from walking right into the
ball. And he hit one high and far away. The
fast Carl could not get under it, though he made
a valiant effort. Spears scored and Rube's long
strides carried him to third. The cold crowd in
the stands came to life; even the sore bleachers
The Redheaded Outfield |
