| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Familiar Studies of Men and Books by Robert Louis Stevenson: or a very private ecstasy still higher up. Use all the
society that will abet you." But surely it is no very
extravagant opinion that it is better to give than to
receive, to serve than to use our companions; and above all,
where there is no question of service upon either side, that
it is good to enjoy their company like a natural man. It is
curious and in some ways dispiriting that a writer may be
always best corrected out of his own mouth; and so, to
conclude, here is another passage from Thoreau which seems
aimed directly at himself: "Do not be too moral; you may
cheat yourself out of much life so. . . . ALL FABLES,
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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 Profits of Religion by Upton Sinclair: Holmes; and one of the society ladies started, and answered, and
presently burst into tears. A marvelous piece of
evidence--especially when you recall that the story of this
mother's bereavement had been published in all the papers a
couple of months before!
And this kind of swindling is going on every night in every city
of America. It goes on wholesale for months every summer at Lily
Dale, in New York State, where the spiritualists hold their
combination of Chautauqua and Coney Island. And the same thing is
going on in the field of mental healing, and of all other
"occult" forces and powers, whether real or imaginary. It is
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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 Criminal Sociology by Enrico Ferri: list, and of the functions of the jury, which legislation in every
country is compelled to impose.
The essential characteristic distinguishing the jury from the
judge is especially marked by the origin of their authority; for
the jury is a judge simply because he is a citizen, whilst the
magistrate is a judge only by popular election or appointment by
the head of the State. So that any one who has entered on his
civil and political rights, and is of the necessary age,
ought, according to the spirit of the institution, to
administer justice on every civil or criminal question, whatever
its importance, and not only in giving the final verdict, but also
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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 Hamlet by William Shakespeare: hath caught me in his clutch:
And hath shipped me intill the Land,
as if I had neuer beene such
Ham. That Scull had a tongue in it, and could sing
once: how the knaue iowles it to th' grownd, as if it
were Caines Iaw-bone, that did the first murther: It
might be the Pate of a Polititian which this Asse o're Offices:
one that could circumuent God, might it not?
Hor. It might, my Lord
Ham. Or of a Courtier, which could say, Good Morrow
sweet Lord: how dost thou, good Lord? this
Hamlet |
