| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Sylvie and Bruno by Lewis Carroll: Professor and Bruno were seated on a bank awaiting our return.
Just before we came within hearing-distance Sylvie checked me.
"Please don't tell Bruno about the hare!" she said.
Very well, my child. But why not?
Tears again glittered in those sweet eyes and she turned her head away
so that I could scarcely hear her reply. "He's--he's very fond of
gentle creatures you know. And he'd--he'd be so sorry! I don't want
him to be made sorry."
And your agony of sorrow is to count for nothing, then, sweet unselfish
child! I thought to myself. But no more was said till we had reached
our friends; and Bruno was far too much engrossed, in the feast we had
Sylvie and Bruno |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from A Hero of Our Time by M.Y. Lermontov: till then.
"Of the fact," he answered, "that sooner or
later, one fine morning, I shall die."
"I am better off than you," I said. "In addi-
tion to that, I have a further conviction, namely,
that, one very nasty evening, I had the misfor-
tune to be born."
All the others considered that we were talking
nonsense, but indeed not one of them said any-
thing more sensible. From that moment we
singled each other out amongst the crowd. We
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