| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Large Catechism by Dr. Martin Luther: early provided for [married], so that the virgin state was held in
small esteem, neither were public prostitution and lewdness tolerated
(as now). Therefore adultery was the most common form of unchastity
among them.
But because among us there is such a shameful mess and the very dregs
of all vice and lewdness, this commandment is directed also against all
manner of unchastity, whatever it may be called; and not only is the
external act forbidden, but also every kind of cause, incitement, and
means, so that the heart, the lips, and the whole body may be chaste
and afford no opportunity, help, or persuasion to unchastity. And not
only this, but that we also make resistance, afford protection and
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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 Letters of Robert Louis Stevenson by Robert Louis Stevenson: elected for by the advocates, QUORUM PARS; I am told that I am too
late this year; but advised on all hands to go on, as it is likely
soon to be once more vacant; and I shall have done myself good for
the next time. Now, if I got the thing (which I cannot, it
appears), I believe, in spite of all my imperfections, I could be
decently effectual. If you can think so also, do put it in a
testimonial.
Heavens! JE ME SAUVE, I have something else to say to you, but
after that (which is not a joke) I shall keep it for another shoot.
- Yours testimonially,
ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON.
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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 Goodness of St. Rocque and Other Stories by Alice Dunbar: card all roses and fringe, from Theophile; but being a Creole,
and therefore superstitiously careful, and having been reared by
a wise and experienced maman to mistrust the gifts of a recreant
lover, Manuela quietly thrust bonbons, box, and card into the
kitchen fire, and the Friday following placed the second candle
of her nouvena in St. Rocque.
Those of Manuela's friends who had watched with indignation
Theophile gallantly leading Claralie home from High Mass on
Sundays, gasped with astonishment when the next Sunday, with his
usual bow, the young man offered Manuela his arm as the
worshippers filed out in step to the organ's march. Claralie
The Goodness of St. Rocque and Other Stories |
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 Time Machine by H. G. Wells: which made me think that its rare emergence above ground was the
outcome of a long-continued underground habit. In the first
place, there was the bleached look common in most animals that
live largely in the dark--the white fish of the Kentucky caves,
for instance. Then, those large eyes, with that capacity for
reflecting light, are common features of nocturnal things--
witness the owl and the cat. And last of all, that evident
confusion in the sunshine, that hasty yet fumbling awkward flight
towards dark shadow, and that peculiar carriage of the head while
in the light--all reinforced the theory of an extreme
sensitiveness of the retina.
The Time Machine |
