| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Dreams & Dust by Don Marquis: Unconsciously, divinest thought of each race gild-
ing its god's face.
And every race that lives and dies shall make itself
some other gods,
Shall build, with mingled truth and lies, new icons
from the world-old clods.
Through all the tangled creeds and dreams and
shifting shibboleths men hold
The false-and-true, inwoven, gleams: a matted
mass of dross and gold.
Prove, then, thy gods in thine own soul; all others'
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Scaramouche by Rafael Sabatini: give that afternoon and on the morrow, and wondering which of these
he might postpone without deranging the academy. When having touched
the Vicomte three times in succession, he paused and wrenched himself
back to the present, it was to marvel at the precision to be gained
by purely mechanical action. Without bestowing a thought upon what
he was doing, his wrist and arm and knees had automatically performed
their work, like the accurate fighting engine into which constant
practice for a year and more had combined them.
Not until Sunday was Andre-Louis able to satisfy a wish which the
impatience of the intervening days had converted into a yearning.
Dressed with more than ordinary care, his head elegantly coiffed
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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 The Voyage of the Beagle by Charles Darwin: distributed in other quarters of the world: in like manner
we have seen that the different islands have their proper
species of the mundane genus of tortoise, and of the widely
distributed American genus of the mocking-thrush, as well
as of two of the Galapageian sub-groups of finches, and
almost certainly of the Galapageian genus Amblyrhynchus.
The distribution of the tenants of this archipelago would
not be nearly so wonderful, if, for instance, one island had
a mocking-thrush, and a second island some other quite distinct
genus, -- if one island had its genus of lizard, and a
second island another distinct genus, or none whatever; -- or
The Voyage of the Beagle |
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 Life and Adventures of Santa Claus by L. Frank Baum: is better work for you in life than to labor for food, and though, not
being of the Forest, Ak has no command over us, nevertheless are we
glad to favor one he loves. Live, therefore, to do the good work you
are resolved to undertake. We, the Field Ryls, will attend to your
food supplies."
After this speech the Ryls were no longer to be seen, and Claus drove
from his mind the thought of tilling the earth.
When next he wandered back to his dwelling a bowl of fresh milk stood
upon the table; bread was in the cupboard and sweet honey filled a
dish beside it. A pretty basket of rosy apples and new-plucked grapes
was also awaiting him. He called out "Thanks, my friends!" to the
The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus |
