| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from King James Bible: of Jordan is spoiled.
ZEC 11:4 Thus saith the LORD my God; Feed the flock of the slaughter;
ZEC 11:5 Whose possessors slay them, and hold themselves not guilty:
and they that sell them say, Blessed be the LORD; for I am rich: and
their own shepherds pity them not.
ZEC 11:6 For I will no more pity the inhabitants of the land, saith the
LORD: but, lo, I will deliver the men every one into his neighbour's
hand, and into the hand of his king: and they shall smite the land, and
out of their hand I will not deliver them.
ZEC 11:7 And I will feed the flock of slaughter, even you, O poor of
the flock. And I took unto me two staves; the one I called Beauty, and
King James Bible |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Heroes by Charles Kingsley: wondrous bed.'
Then the old man clapped his hands together and cried -
'O house of Hades, man-devouring! will thy maw never be full?
Know, fair youth, that you are going to torment and to death,
for he who met you (I will requite your kindness by another)
is a robber and a murderer of men. Whatsoever stranger he
meets he entices him hither to death; and as for this bed of
which he speaks, truly it fits all comers, yet none ever rose
alive off it save me.'
'Why?' asked Theseus, astonished.
'Because, if a man be too tall for it, he lops his limbs till
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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 Memoir of Fleeming Jenkin by Robert Louis Stevenson: not recognise for long the treasures of simple chivalry that lay
buried in the heart of his father. Yet it would be an error to
regard this marriage as unfortunate. It not only lasted long
enough to justify itself in a beautiful and touching epilogue, but
it gave to the world the scientific work and what (while time was)
were of far greater value, the delightful qualities of Fleeming
Jenkin. The Kentish-Welsh family, facile, extravagant, generous to
a fault and far from brilliant, had given the father, an extreme
example of its humble virtues. On the other side, the wild, cruel,
proud, and somewhat blackguard stock of the Scotch Campbell-
Jacksons, had put forth, in the person of the mother all its force
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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 Helen of Troy And Other Poems by Sara Teasdale: Still I remember how I strove to flee
The love-note of the birds, and bowed my head
To hurry faster, but upon the ground
I saw two winged shadows side by side,
And all the world's spring passion stifled me.
Ah, Love, there is no fleeing from thy might,
No lonely place where thou hast never trod,
No desert thou hast left uncarpeted
With flowers that spring beneath thy perfect feet.
In many guises didst thou come to me;
I saw thee by the maidens while they danced,
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