| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from King James Bible: of vines, or of pomegranates; neither is there any water to drink.
NUM 20:6 And Moses and Aaron went from the presence of the assembly
unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and they fell upon
their faces: and the glory of the LORD appeared unto them.
NUM 20:7 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
NUM 20:8 Take the rod, and gather thou the assembly together, thou, and
Aaron thy brother, and speak ye unto the rock before their eyes; and it
shall give forth his water, and thou shalt bring forth to them water out
of the rock: so thou shalt give the congregation and their beasts drink.
NUM 20:9 And Moses took the rod from before the LORD, as he commanded
him.
King James Bible |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Tarzan and the Jewels of Opar by Edgar Rice Burroughs: And as he let his imaginings run riot they aroused
within him a bestial jealousy of Mohammed Beyd, and a
great fear that the other might encompass his base
designs upon the defenseless girl. By a strange
process of reasoning, Werper, whose designs were
identical with the Arab's, pictured himself as Jane
Clayton's protector, and presently convinced himself
that the attentions which might seem hideous to her
if proffered by Mohammed Beyd, would be welcomed from
Albert Werper.
Her husband was dead, and Werper fancied that he could
Tarzan and the Jewels of Opar |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from The Prince by Nicolo Machiavelli: might indulge his rapacity upon the people; on the other hand, not
maintaining his dignity, often descending to the theatre to compete
with gladiators, and doing other vile things, little worthy of the
imperial majesty, he fell into contempt with the soldiers, and being
hated by one party and despised by the other, he was conspired against
and was killed.
It remains to discuss the character of Maximinus. He was a very
warlike man, and the armies, being disgusted with the effeminacy of
Alexander, of whom I have already spoken, killed him and elected
Maximinus to the throne. This he did not possess for long, for two
things made him hated and despised; the one, his having kept sheep in
The Prince |
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 Several Works by Edgar Allan Poe: But whose velvet violet lining with the lamp-light gloating o'er
She shall press, ah, nevermore!
Then, methought, the air grew denser, perfumed from an unseen censer
Swung by Seraphim whose foot-falls tinkled on the tufted floor.
"Wretch," I cried, "thy God hath lent thee--by these angels he hath sent thee
Respite--respite and nepenthe from thy memories of Lenore!
Quaff, oh quaff this kind nepenthe and forget this lost Lenore!"
Quoth the Raven, "Nevermore."
"Prophet!" said I, "thing of evil!--prophet still, if bird or devil!--
Whether Tempter sent, or whether tempest tossed thee here ashore,
Desolate, yet all undaunted, on this desert land enchanted--
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