| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Richard III by William Shakespeare: full of obstacles: it made me once restore a purse of gold
that-by chance I found. It beggars any man that keeps it.
It is turn'd out of towns and cities for a dangerous thing;
and every man that means to live well endeavours to trust
to himself and live without it.
FIRST MURDERER. Zounds, 'tis even now at my elbow,
persuading me not to kill the Duke.
SECOND MURDERER. Take the devil in thy mind and believe
him not; he would insinuate with thee but to make thee
sigh.
FIRST MURDERER. I am strong-fram'd; he cannot prevail with
 Richard III |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Breaking Point by Mary Roberts Rinehart: she had heard something, for he found her eyes on him more than once,
and when Margaret had gone up to bed she came over and sat on the
arm of his chair. She said an odd thing then, and one that made it
impossible to lie to her later.
"I come to you, a good bit as I would go to God, if he were a
person," she said. "I have got to know something, and you can tell
me."
He put his arm around her and held her close.
"Go ahead, honey."
"Daddy, do you realize that I am a woman now?"
"I try to. But it seems about six months since I was feeding you
 The Breaking Point |