| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne: could revive with vivid reality all the incidents of our voyage,
Iceland, M. Fridrikssen, Snæfell. I said to myself that if, in such a
position as I was now in, I was fool enough to cling to one glimpse
of hope, it would be madness, and that the best thing I could do was
to despair.
What human power could restore me to the light of the sun by rending
asunder the huge arches of rock which united over my head,
buttressing each other with impregnable strength? Who could place my
feet on the right path, and bring me back to my company?
"Oh, my uncle!" burst from my lips in the tone of despair.
It was my only word of reproach, for I knew how much he must be
Journey to the Center of the Earth |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Sophist by Plato: is troublesome and hard to be caught, I should recommend that we practise
beforehand the method which is to be applied to him on some simple and
smaller thing, unless you can suggest a better way.
THEAETETUS: Indeed I cannot.
STRANGER: Then suppose that we work out some lesser example which will be
a pattern of the greater?
THEAETETUS: Good.
STRANGER: What is there which is well known and not great, and is yet as
susceptible of definition as any larger thing? Shall I say an angler? He
is familiar to all of us, and not a very interesting or important person.
THEAETETUS: He is not.
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