| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Travels of Sir John Mandeville by Sir John Mandeville: will hold me still, without any more rehearsing of diversities or
of marvels that be beyond, to that intent and end, that whoso will
go into those countries, he shall find enough to speak of, that I
have not touched of in no wise.
And ye shall understand, if it like you, that at mine home-coming,
I came to Rome, and shewed my life to our holy father the pope, and
was assoiled of all that lay in my conscience, of many a diverse
grievous point; as men must needs that be in company, dwelling
amongst so many a diverse folk of diverse sect and of belief, as I
have been.
And amongst all I shewed him this treatise, that I had made after
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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 Poems of Goethe, Bowring, Tr. by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe: As gently as a bear well may;
Softly I rise, and with a clever ruse
Leap on her knee.--On a propitious day
She suffers it; my ears then tickles she,
And hits me a hard blow in wanton play;
I growl with new-born ecstasy;
Then speaks she in a sweet vain jest, I wot
"Allons lout doux! eh! la menotte!
Et faites serviteur
Comme un joli seigneur."
Thus she proceeds with sport and glee;
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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 A treatise on Good Works by Dr. Martin Luther: nor to the right, that is, neither with unbelief nor with
tempting, but with simple faith remain on the straight road,
trusting Him, and yet setting Him no bounds.
VI. Thus we see that this Commandment, like the Second, is to be
nothing else than a doing and keeping of the First Commandment,
that is, of faith, trust, confidence, hope and love to God, so
that in all the Commandments the First may be the captain, and
faith the chief work and the life of all other works, without
which, as was said, they cannot be good.
But if you say: "What if I cannot believe that my prayer is heard
and accepted?" I answer: For this very reason faith, prayer and
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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 Out of Time's Abyss by Edgar Rice Burroughs: growl broke from a dense thicket ahead and diverted their
attention to other matters.
"One of them behemoths of 'Oly Writ," muttered Tippet as they came
to a halt and with guns ready awaited the almost inevitable charge.
"Hungry lot o' beggars, these," said Bradley; "always trying to
eat everything they see."
For a moment no further sound came from the thicket. "He may be
feeding now," suggested Bradley. "We'll try to go around him.
Can't waste ammunition. Won't last forever. Follow me." And he
set off at right angles to their former course, hoping to avert
a charge. They had taken a dozen steps, perhaps, when the
Out of Time's Abyss |
