| 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: Christ. For as the lips of Christ say and speak, so it is, as He can
never lie or deceive.
Hence it is easy to reply to all manner of questions about which men
are troubled at the present time, such as this one: Whether even a
wicked priest can minister at, and dispense, the Sacrament, and
whatever other questions like this there may be. For here we conclude
and say: Even though a knave takes or distributes the Sacrament, he
receives the true Sacrament, that is, the true body and blood of
Christ, just as truly as he who [receives or] administers it in the
most worthy manner. For it is not founded upon the holiness of men, but
upon the Word of God. And as no saint upon earth, yea, no angel in
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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 Call of the Wild by Jack London: he might receive instruction. Apt scholar that he was, they were
equally apt teachers, never allowing him to linger long in error,
and enforcing their teaching with their sharp teeth. Dave was
fair and very wise. He never nipped Buck without cause, and he
never failed to nip him when he stood in need of it. As
Francois's whip backed him up, Buck found it to be cheaper to mend
his ways than to retaliate, Once, during a brief halt, when he got
tangled in the traces and delayed the start, both Dave and Sol-
leks flew at him and administered a sound trouncing. The
resulting tangle was even worse, but Buck took good care to keep
the traces clear thereafter; and ere the day was done, so well had
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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 Herbert West: Reanimator by H. P. Lovecraft: into the arm of the headless body. The scene I cannot describe
-- I should faint if I tried it, for there is madness in a room
full of classified charnel things, with blood and lesser human
debris almost ankle-deep on the slimy floor, and with hideous
reptilian abnormalities sprouting, bubbling, and baking over a
winking bluish-green spectre of dim flame in a far corner of black
shadows.
The specimen, as West repeatedly observed, had a splendid
nervous system. Much was expected of it; and as a few twitching
motions began to appear, I could see the feverish interest on
West’s face. He was ready, I think, to see proof of his increasingly
Herbert West: Reanimator |
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 Anabasis by Xenophon: Master of Balliol College
Regius Professor of Greek in the University of Oxford
Xenophon the Athenian was born 431 B.C. He was a
pupil of Socrates. He marched with the Spartans,
and was exiled from Athens. Sparta gave him land
and property in Scillus, where he lived for many
years before having to move once more, to settle
in Corinth. He died in 354 B.C.
The Anabasis is his story of the march to Persia
to aid Cyrus, who enlisted Greek help to try and
take the throne from Artaxerxes, and the ensuing
Anabasis |
