| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Glinda of Oz by L. Frank Baum: and was much loved and respected by all the people.
Once a Munchkin farmer had stuffed an old suit of
clothes with straw and put stuffed boots on the feet
and used a pair of stuffed cotton gloves for hands. The
head of the Scarecrow was a stuffed sack fastened to
the body, with eyes, nose, mouth and ears painted on
the sack. When a hat had been put on the head, the
thing was a good imitation of a man. The farmer placed
the Scarecrow on a pole in his cornfield and it came to
life in a curious manner. Dorothy, who was passing by
the field, was hailed by the live Scarecrow and lifted
Glinda of Oz |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Barlaam and Ioasaph by St. John of Damascus: nor repentance. But as long as we are `among the living, while
the foundation of our true faith continueth unshattered, even if
somewhat of the outer roof-work or inner building be disabled, it
is allowed to renew by repentance the part rotted by sins. It is
impossible to count the multitude of the mercies of God, or
measure the greatness of his compassion: whereas sins and
offences, of whatever kind, are subject to measure and may be
numbered. So our offences, being subject to measure and number,
cannot overcome the immeasurable compassion, and innumerable
mercies of God.
"Wherefore we are commanded not to despair for our trespasses,
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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 Unconscious Comedians by Honore de Balzac: comprehended the stab of that glance or not, he went on to say (so
Massol told me), 'I've as much ambition as other men. I will never go
back to my native place, if I ever do go back, unless I am a rich man.
Paris is the antechamber of Paradise. They tell me that you who write
the newspapers can make, as they say, "fine weather and foul"; that
is, you have things all your own way, and it's enough to ask your help
to get any place, no matter what, under government. Now, though I have
faculties, like others, I know myself: I have no education; I don't
know how to write, and that's a misfortune, for I have ideas. I am not
seeking, therefore, to be your rival; I judge myself, and I know I
couldn't succeed there. But, as you are so powerful, and as we are
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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 The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Bronte Sisters: threw up the window and looked out, whether to calm her own,
excited feelings, or to relieve her embarrassment, or only to pluck
that beautiful half-blown Christmas-rose that grew upon the little
shrub without, just peeping from the snow that had hitherto, no
doubt, defended it from the frost, and was now melting away in the
sun. Pluck it, however, she did, and having gently dashed the
glittering powder from its leaves, approached it to her lips and
said:
'This rose is not so fragrant as a summer flower, but it has stood
through hardships none of them could bear: the cold rain of winter
has sufficed to nourish it, and its faint sun to warm it; the bleak
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall |
