| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Pagan and Christian Creeds by Edward Carpenter: of the question before us.
At the time of the life or recorded appearance of Jesus
of Nazareth, and for some centuries before, the Mediterranean
and neighboring world had been the scene of a
vast number of pagan creeds and rituals. There were
Temples without end dedicated to gods like Apollo or Dionysus
among the Greeks, Hercules among the Romans,
Mithra among the Persians, Adonis and Attis in Syria and
Phrygia, Osiris and Isis and Horus in Egypt, Baal and
Astarte among the Babylonians and Carthaginians, and so
forth. Societies, large or small, united believers and the
Pagan and Christian Creeds |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Soul of Man by Oscar Wilde: cease to exist. Of course, all crimes are not crimes against
property, though such are the crimes that the English law, valuing
what a man has more than what a man is, punishes with the harshest
and most horrible severity, if we except the crime of murder, and
regard death as worse than penal servitude, a point on which our
criminals, I believe, disagree. But though a crime may not be
against property, it may spring from the misery and rage and
depression produced by our wrong system of property-holding, and
so, when that system is abolished, will disappear. When each
member of the community has sufficient for his wants, and is not
interfered with by his neighbour, it will not be an object of any
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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 Chinese Boy and Girl by Isaac Taylor Headland: the game.
Chi had become so expert in pitching and dropping the
brick as to be able to play the game without an error. The
shuffling and hopping often caused much merriment.
"What is that game," we inquired of Chi, "the boys on
the street play with two marbles?"
Without directly answering my question Chi turned to the boys and
said:
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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 Riders of the Purple Sage by Zane Grey: "Oh, Lassiter! The herd's running with the valley! It leads into
the canyon! There's a straight jump-off!"
"I reckon they'll run into it, too. But that's a good many miles
yet. An', Jane, this valley swings round almost north before it
goes east. That stampede will pass within a mile of us."
The long, white, bobbing line of steers streaked swiftly through
the sage, and a funnel-shaped dust-cloud arose at a low angle. A
dull rumbling filled Jane's ears.
"I'm thinkin' of millin' that herd," said Lassiter. His gray
glance swept up the slope to the west. "There's some specks an'
dust way off toward the village. Mebbe that's Judkins an' his
Riders of the Purple Sage |
