| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Democracy In America, Volume 1 by Alexis de Toqueville: further revolutions. On the contrary, everything was done to
encourage it, and great exertions were made to mitigate the
hardships of those who sought a shelter from the rigor of their
country's laws on the soil of America. It seemed as if New
England was a region given up to the dreams of fancy and the
unrestrained experiments of innovators.
The English colonies (and this is one of the main causes of
their prosperity) have always enjoyed more internal freedom and
more political independence than the colonies of other nations;
but this principle of liberty was nowhere more extensively
applied than in the States of New England.
|
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Tanglewood Tales by Nathaniel Hawthorne: are the broadest, and we think him the stronger of the two."
Antaeus could not endure to have it said that any mortal was
half so mighty as himself. This latter remark of the Pygmies
pricked him deeper than their swords; and, sitting up, in
rather a sulky humor, he gave a gape of several yards wide,
rubbed his eyes, and finally turned his stupid head in the
direction whither his little friends were eagerly pointing.
No sooner did he set eyes on the stranger, than, leaping on his
feet, and seizing his walking stick, he strode a mile or two to
meet him; all the while brandishing the sturdy pine tree, so
that it whistled through the air.
Tanglewood Tales |
