| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Louis Lambert by Honore de Balzac: His considerations on the substance of the mind led to his accepting,
with a certain pride, the life of privation to which we were condemned
in consequence of our idleness and our indifference to learning. He
had a certain consciousness of his own powers which bore him up
through his spiritual cogitations. How delightful it was to me to feel
his soul acting on my own! Many a time have we remained sitting on our
form, both buried in one book, having quite forgotten each other's
existence, and yet not apart; each conscious of the other's presence,
and bathing in an ocean of thought, like two fish swimming in the same
waters.
Our life, apparently, was merely vegetating; but we lived through our
 Louis Lambert |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Wrecker by Stevenson & Osbourne: I got you ranked a creditor on the estate for your wages and the
money you had lent. And----"
I believe I reeled. "A creditor!" I roared; "a creditor! I'm not in
the bankruptcy at all?"
"No," said Jim. "I know it was a liberty----"
"O, damn your liberty! read that," I cried, dashing the letter
before him on the table, "and call in your wife, and be done
with eating this truck "--as I spoke, I slung the cold mutton in
the empty grate--"and let's all go and have a champagne
supper. I've dined--I'm sure I don't remember what I had; I'd
dine again ten scores of times upon a night like this. Read it,
|