| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Sophist by Plato: difficulties even about being.
Let us proceed first to the examination of being. Turning to the dualist
philosophers, we say to them: Is being a third element besides hot and
cold? or do you identify one or both of the two elements with being? At
any rate, you can hardly avoid resolving them into one. Let us next
interrogate the patrons of the one. To them we say: Are being and one two
different names for the same thing? But how can there be two names when
there is nothing but one? Or you may identify them; but then the name will
be either the name of nothing or of itself, i.e. of a name. Again, the
notion of being is conceived of as a whole--in the words of Parmenides,
'like every way unto a rounded sphere.' And a whole has parts; but that
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Scenes from a Courtesan's Life by Honore de Balzac: archway of Saint-Jean--a narrow, dark passage, some block ahead
compelled the postilion to stop under the vault. The prisoner's eyes
shone like carbuncles through the grating, in spite of his aspect as
of a dying man, which, the day before, had led the governor of La
Force to believe that the doctor must be called in. These flaming
eyes, free to rove at this moment, for neither the officer nor the
gendarme looked round at their "customer," spoke so plain a language
that a clever examining judge, M. Popinot, for instance, would have
identified the man convicted for sacrilege.
In fact, ever since the "salad-basket" had turned out of the gate of
La Force, Jacques Collin had studied everything on his way.
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