| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Hated Son by Honore de Balzac: him to the unseen world; he went there, armed with his love, to seek
his mother; realizing thus, with the sublime harmonies of ecstasy, the
symbolic enterprise of Orpheus.
Often, when crouching in the crevice of some rock, capriciously curled
up in his granite grotto, the entrance to which was as narrow as that
of a charcoal kiln, he would sink into involuntary sleep, his figure
softly lighted by the warm rays of the sun which crept through the
fissures and fell upon the dainty seaweeds that adorned his retreat,
the veritable nest of a sea-bird. The sun, his sovereign lord, alone
told him that he had slept, by measuring the time he had been absent
from his watery landscapes, his golden sands, his shells and pebbles.
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz by L. Frank Baum: follow him when the Wizard touched Dorothy softly on her shoulder.
"Wait!" he whispered.
"What for?" asked the girl.
"Suppose we pick the Royal Princess," said the Wizard. "I'm quite
sure she's ripe, and as soon as she comes to life she will be the
Ruler, and may treat us better than that heartless Prince intends to."
"All right!" exclaimed Dorothy, eagerly. "Let's pick her while we
have the chance, before the man with the star comes back."
So together they leaned over the great bush and each of them seized
one hand of the lovely Princess.
"Pull!" cried Dorothy, and as they did so the royal lady leaned toward
Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from The Road to Oz by L. Frank Baum: and be proud, because you are so highly favored. How do you like the
new head, Button-Bright?"
"D-d-don't n-n-n-know!" sobbed the child.
"Please, PLEASE change him back again, your Majesty!" begged Dorothy.
King Renard IV shook his head.
"I can't do that," he said; "I haven't the power, even if I wanted
to. No, Button-Bright must wear his fox head, and he'll be sure to
love it dearly as soon as he gets used to it."
Both the shaggy man and Dorothy looked grave and anxious, for they
were sorrowful that such a misfortune had overtaken their little
companion. Toto barked at the fox-boy once or twice, not realizing it
The Road to Oz |
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 Critias by Plato: Sardinia, Sweden.
Timaeus concludes with a prayer that his words may be acceptable to the God
whom he has revealed, and Critias, whose turn follows, begs that a larger
measure of indulgence may be conceded to him, because he has to speak of
men whom we know and not of gods whom we do not know. Socrates readily
grants his request, and anticipating that Hermocrates will make a similar
petition, extends by anticipation a like indulgence to him.
Critias returns to his story, professing only to repeat what Solon was told
by the priests. The war of which he was about to speak had occurred 9000
years ago. One of the combatants was the city of Athens, the other was the
great island of Atlantis. Critias proposes to speak of these rival powers
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