| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from A Modest Proposal by Jonathan Swift: the county of Cavan, who protested to me, that he never knew
above one or two instances under the age of six, even in a part
of the kingdom so renowned for the quickest proficiency in that
art.
I am assured by our merchants, that a boy or a girl before twelve
years old, is no saleable commodity, and even when they come to
this age, they will not yield above three pounds, or three pounds
and half a crown at most, on the exchange; which cannot turn to
account either to the parents or kingdom, the charge of
nutriments and rags having been at least four times that value.
I shall now therefore humbly propose my own thoughts, which I
A Modest Proposal |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Gods of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs: The green girl slid from her mighty mount and ran toward me.
"O my Prince! My Prince!" she cried. "She is gone for ever.
Even now she may be a captive upon the lesser moon.
The black pirates of Barsoom have stolen her."
CHAPTER XVIII
SOLA'S STORY
Once within the palace, I drew Sola to the dining hall,
and, when she had greeted her father after the formal manner
of the green men, she told the story of the pilgrimage and
capture of Dejah Thoris.
"Seven days ago, after her audience with Zat Arras, Dejah Thoris
The Gods of Mars |
