| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Eugenie Grandet by Honore de Balzac: heart of his cousin, crushed as it was by the look of the old miser.
"You are not eating your breakfast, wife."
The poor helot came forward with a piteous look, cut herself a piece
of bread, and took a pear. Eugenie boldly offered her father some
grapes, saying,--
"Taste my preserves, papa. My cousin, you will eat some, will you not?
I went to get these pretty grapes expressly for you."
"If no one stops them, they will pillage Saumur for you, nephew. When
you have finished, we will go into the garden; I have something to
tell you which can't be sweetened."
Eugenie and her mother cast a look on Charles whose meaning the young
Eugenie Grandet |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Gettysburg Address by Abraham Lincoln: But, in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate. . .we cannot consecrate. . .
we cannot hallow this ground. The brave men, living and dead,
who struggled here have consecrated it, far above our poor power
to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember,
what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here.
It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished
work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced.
It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining
before us. . .that from these honored dead we take increased devotion
to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion. . .
that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain. . .
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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 Hermione's Little Group of Serious Thinkers by Don Marquis: servatives worth listening to were radicals in their
youth." The loveliest man told us that the other
night -- our Little Group of Serious Thinkers, you
know -- and it struck me as being profound.
And isn't profundity fascinating?
But Papa only glowered and said, "Umph!"
Papa, you know, is an obstructionist.
"Papa," I said to him, "what is stubbornness in
you has become will power in me. You will never
dominate me -- NEVER! You should study heredity;
it's wonderful, simply WONDERFUL!
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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 Smalcald Articles by Dr. Martin Luther: That Jesus Christ, our God and Lord, died for our sins, and
was raised again for our justification, Rom. 4, 25.
And He alone is the Lamb of God which taketh away the sins of
the world, John 1, 29; and God has laid upon Him the
iniquities of us all, Is. 53, 6.
Likewise: All have sinned and are justified without merit
[freely, and without their own works or merits] by His grace,
through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, in His blood,
Rom. 3, 23 f.
Now, since it is necessary to believe this, and it cannot be
otherwise acquired or apprehended by any work, law, or merit,
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