| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Running a Thousand Miles for Freedom by William and Ellen Craft: few minutes' sleep in the car; but I, like Bunyan's
Christian in the arbour, went to sleep at the wrong
time, and took too long a nap. So, when the train
reached Havre de Grace, all the first-class pas-
sengers had to get out of the carriages and into
a ferry-boat, to be ferried across the Susquehanna
river, and take the train on the opposite side.
The road was constructed so as to be raised or
lowered to suit the tide. So they rolled the luggage-
vans on to the boat, and off on the other side; and
as I was in one of the apartments adjoining a bag-
Running a Thousand Miles for Freedom |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from An Unsocial Socialist by George Bernard Shaw: Miss Wilson was suddenly moved not to let him go without an
appeal to his better nature. "Mr. Trefusis," she said, "excuse
me, but are you not, in your generosity to others a little
forgetful of your duty to yourself; and--"
"The first and hardest of all duties!" he exclaimed. "I beg your
pardon for interrupting you. It was only to plead guilty."
"I cannot admit that it is the first of all duties, but it is
sometimes perhaps the hardest, as you say. Still, you could
surely do yourself more justice without any great effort. If you
wish to live humbly, you can do so without pretending to be an
uneducated man and without taking an irritating and absurd name.
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