| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Perfect Wagnerite: A Commentary on the Niblung's Ring by George Bernard Shaw: readers to this German edition as the most complete in
existence.
My obligation to Herr Trebitsch for making me a living German
author instead of merely a translated English one is so great
that I am bound to point out that he is not responsible for my
views or Wagner's, and that it is as an artist and a man of
letters, and not as a propagandist, that he is conveying to the
German speaking peoples political criticisms which occasionally
reflect on contemporary authorities with a European reputation
for sensitiveness. And as the very sympathy which makes his
translations so excellent may be regarded with suspicion, let me
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Black Beauty by Anna Sewell: they have paid to ride, and ride they will! The horse? Oh, he's used to it!
What were horses made for, if not to drag people uphill? Walk!
A good joke indeed! And so the whip is plied and the rein is chucked
and often a rough, scolding voice cries out, "Go along, you lazy beast!"
And then another slash of the whip, when all the time we are doing
our very best to get along, uncomplaining and obedient,
though often sorely harassed and down-hearted.
This steam-engine style of driving wears us up faster than any other kind.
I would far rather go twenty miles with a good considerate driver
than I would go ten with some of these; it would take less out of me.
Another thing, they scarcely ever put on the brake, however steep
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