| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Smalcald Articles by Dr. Martin Luther: then Christ has died in vain, since there is in man no defect
nor sin for which he should have died; or He would have died
only for the body, not for the soul, inasmuch as the soul is
[entirely] sound, and the body only is subject to death.
II. Of the Law
Here we hold that the Law was given by God, first, to restrain
sin by threats and the dread of punishment, and by the promise
and offer of grace and benefit. But all this miscarried on
account of the wickedness which sin has wrought in man. For
thereby a part [some] were rendered worse, those, namely, who
are hostile to [hate] the Law, because it forbids what they
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Travels with a Donkey in the Cevenne by Robert Louis Stevenson: rolling stones, on an artificial terrace, certainly not five feet
square in all. Here I tied her to a chestnut, and having given her
corn and bread and made a pile of chestnut-leaves, of which I found
her greedy, I descended once more to my own encampment.
The position was unpleasantly exposed. One or two carts went by
upon the road; and as long as daylight lasted I concealed myself,
for all the world like a hunted Camisard, behind my fortification
of vast chestnut trunk; for I was passionately afraid of discovery
and the visit of jocular persons in the night. Moreover, I saw
that I must be early awake; for these chestnut gardens had been the
scene of industry no further gone than on the day before. The
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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 Pierre Grassou by Honore de Balzac: revolution of 1830, have you not been seized by a sense of uneasiness,
weariness, sadness, at the sight of those long and over-crowded
galleries? Since 1830, the true Salon no longer exists. The Louvre has
again been taken by assault,--this time by a populace of artists who
have maintained themselves in it.
In other days, when the Salon presented only the choicest works of
art, it conferred the highest honor on the creations there exhibited.
Among the two hundred selected paintings, the public could still
choose: a crown was awarded to the masterpiece by hands unseen. Eager,
impassioned discussions arose about some picture. The abuse showered
on Delacroix, on Ingres, contributed no less to their fame than the
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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 Court Life in China by Isaac Taylor Headland: in a most animated way.
One of the Manchu ladies expressed regret at the falling of her
hair and the fact that she was getting bald. "Why," said my
little Chinese friend, "after a severe illness not long since, I
lost all my hair, but I received a prescription from a friend
which restored it all, and just look at the result," she
continued turning her pretty head with its great coils of shiny
black hair. "I will be delighted to let you have it." The Manchu
princesses finally rose to depart, and in their leave-taking,
they were as cordial to my little Chinese friend, who had made
herself so agreeable, as they were to me, for which I shall ever
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