| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Chita: A Memory of Last Island by Lafcadio Hearn: the sea-breeze was warm; there were pleasant odors in the shade,
and a soporific murmur made of leaf-speech and the hum of gnats.
Only the captain entered the house with Feliu; the rest remained
without--some taking seats on a rude plank bench under the
oaks--others flinging themselves down upon the weeds--a few stood
still, leaning upon their rifles. Then Carmen came out to them
with gourds and a bucket of fresh water, which all were glad to
drink.
They waited many minutes. Perhaps it was the cool peace of the
place that made them all feel how hot and tired they were:
conversation flagged; and the general languor finally betrayed
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Proposed Roads To Freedom by Bertrand Russell: few among them have any practical knowledge on the
subject of food production. But Kropotkin is an
exception. His two books, ``The Conquest of Bread''
and ``Fields, Factories and Workshops,'' are very
full of detailed information, and, even making great
allowances for an optimistic bias, I do not think it
can be denied that they demonstrate possibilities in
which few of us would otherwise have believed.
Malthus contended, in effect, that population
always tends to increase up to the limit of subsistence,
that the production of food becomes more expensive
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