| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Kreutzer Sonata by Leo Tolstoy: contention.
In the third place I am of opinion that another consequence of
the false light in which "falling in love," and what it leads to,
are viewed in our society, is that the birth of children has lost
its pristine significance, and that modern marriages are
conceived less and less from the point of view of the family. I
am of opinion that this is not right. This is my third
contention.
In the fourth place, I am of opinion that the children (who in
our society are considered an obstacle to enjoyment--an unlucky
accident, as it were) are educated not with a view to the problem
The Kreutzer Sonata |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Duchess of Padua by Oscar Wilde: And by those laws the common murderer even
May with his own lips plead, and make defence.
DUCHESS
This is no common murderer, Lord Justice,
But a great outlaw, and a most vile traitor,
Taken in open arms against the state.
For he who slays the man who rules a state
Slays the state also, widows every wife,
And makes each child an orphan, and no less
Is to be held a public enemy,
Than if he came with mighty ordonnance,
|
