| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from From the Earth to the Moon by Jules Verne: "Enough! enough!" cried some.
"Drive the intruder off!" shouted others.
"Turn him out!" roared the exasperated crowd.
But he, holding firmly on to the platform, did not budge an
inch, and let the storm pass on, which would soon have assumed
formidable proportions, if Michel Ardan had not quieted it by
a gesture. He was too chivalrous to abandon his opponent in an
apparent extremity.
"You wished to say a few more words?" he asked, in a pleasant voice.
"Yes, a thousand; or rather, no, only one! If you persevere in
your enterprise, you must be a----"
 From the Earth to the Moon |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Rescue by Joseph Conrad: plan of action. In his ignorance as to the true state of affairs
in the country, to save Hassim from the immediate danger of his
position was all that he could reasonably attempt. To that end
Lingard proposed to swing out his long-boat and send her close
inshore to take off Hassim and his men. He knew enough of Malays
to feel sure that on such a night the besiegers, now certain of
success, and being, Jaffir said, in possession of everything that
could float, would not be very vigilant, especially on the sea
front of the stockade. The very fact of Jaffir having managed to
swim off undetected proved that much. The brig's boat could--when
the frequency of lightning abated--approach unseen close to the
 The Rescue |