| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Madame Firmiani by Honore de Balzac: frailties, and like none but proteges. Aristocrats by inclination,
they make themselves democrats out of spite, preferring to consort
with inferiors as equals.
"Oh, Madame Firmiani, my dear fellow! she is one of those adorable
women who serve as Nature's excuse for all the ugly ones she creates.
Madame Firmiani is enchanting, and so kind! I wish I were in power and
possessed millions that I might--" (here a whisper). "Shall I present
you?" The speaker is a youth of the Student species, known for his
boldness among men and his timidity in a boudoir.
"Madame Firmiani?" cries another, twirling his cane. "I'll tell you
what I think of her; she is a woman between thirty and thirty-five;
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Profits of Religion by Upton Sinclair: economic corruption of the Church. In America, the "Knights of
Slavery" have been forced by public pressure to support a "War
for Democracy", and even to compete with the Y. M. C. A. in the
training camps. They are doing good work, I am told.
This gradual conquest of the old religiosity by the spirit of
modern common sense is shown most interestingly in the Salvation
Army. William Booth was a man with a great heart, who took his
life into his hands and went out with a bass-drum to save the
lost souls of the slums. He was stoned and jailed, but he
persisted, and brought his captives to Jesus--
Vermin-eaten saints with mouldy breath, Unwashed legions with
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