| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from When a Man Marries by Mary Roberts Rinehart: cards stopped, and Bella said she would read palms. She began
with Mr. Harbison, because she declared he had a wonderful hand,
full of possibilities; she said he should have been a great
inventor or a playwright, and that his attitude to women was one
of homage, respect, almost reverence. He had the courage to look
at me, and if a glance could have killed he would have withered
away.
When Jimmy proffered his hand, she looked at it icily. Of course
she could not refuse, with Mr. Harbison looking on.
"Rather negative," she said coldly. "The lines are obscured by
cushions of flesh; no heart line at all, mentality small,
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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: can move, not merely mountains, but Riker-Hegeman's, Macy's, or
the Steel Trust. "How to Promote Yourself " is the title of one
of Mr. Brown's pamphlets, in which he explains that--
Your wants are impressed on the Divine Mind only by your faith. A
doubt cuts the connection.
A second pamphlet, which we are told is now in its thirtieth
edition, bears the thrilling title of "Dollars Want Me!" In it
Mr. Brown lays claim to being a pioneer:
I believe that this little monograph is the first utterance of
the thought that each individual has the ability so to radiate
his mental forces that he can cause the Dollars to feel him, love
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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 Twenty Years After by Alexandre Dumas: And therefore, when all Paris was rejoicing in the expected
return of the king, appointed for the next day, Gondy alone,
in the midst of the general happiness, was dissatisfied; he
sent for the two men whom he was wont to summon when in
especially bad humor. Those two men were the Count de
Rochefort and the mendicant of Saint Eustache. They came
with their usual promptness, and the coadjutor spent with
them a part of the night.
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In which it is shown that it is sometimes more difficult for
Kings to return to the Capitals of their Kingdoms, than to
Twenty Years After |
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 Cratylus by Plato: of nature, when an animal produces after his kind, and not of extraordinary
births;--if contrary to nature a horse have a calf, then I should not call
that a foal but a calf; nor do I call any inhuman birth a man, but only a
natural birth. And the same may be said of trees and other things. Do you
agree with me?
HERMOGENES: Yes, I agree.
SOCRATES: Very good. But you had better watch me and see that I do not
play tricks with you. For on the same principle the son of a king is to be
called a king. And whether the syllables of the name are the same or not
the same, makes no difference, provided the meaning is retained; nor does
the addition or subtraction of a letter make any difference so long as the
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