| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Europeans by Henry James: "I don't know. I thought you would melt away."
"That 's a compliment to my solidity! I melt very often,"
said Felix, "but there is always something left of me."
"I came and waited for you by the door, because the others did,"
Gertrude went on. "But if you had never appeared I should not
have been surprised."
"I hope," declared Felix, looking at her, "that you would
have been disappointed."
She looked at him a little, and shook her head. "No--no!"
"Ah, par exemple!" cried the young man. "You deserve that I
should never leave you."
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Parmenides by Plato: what you say in another way, and would fain make believe that he is telling
us something which is new. For you, in your poems, say The All is one, and
of this you adduce excellent proofs; and he on the other hand says There is
no many; and on behalf of this he offers overwhelming evidence. You affirm
unity, he denies plurality. And so you deceive the world into believing
that you are saying different things when really you are saying much the
same. This is a strain of art beyond the reach of most of us.
Yes, Socrates, said Zeno. But although you are as keen as a Spartan hound
in pursuing the track, you do not fully apprehend the true motive of the
composition, which is not really such an artificial work as you imagine;
for what you speak of was an accident; there was no pretence of a great
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