The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Rape of Lucrece by William Shakespeare: Of what she was no semblance did remain:
Her blue blood, chang'd to black in every vein,
Wanting the spring that those shrunk pipes had fed,
Show'd life imprison'd in a body dead.
On this sad shadow Lucrece spends her eyes,
And shapes her sorrow to the beldame's woes,
Who nothing wants to answer her but cries,
And bitter words to ban her cruel foes:
The painter was no god to lend her those;
And therefore Lucrece swears he did her wrong,
To give her so much grief, and not a tongue.
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Lady Baltimore by Owen Wister: fingers in his strong glove, he spoke:--
"This town's worse than Sunday."
Then he got into the automobile. They all followed to see Charley off,
and he addressed me.
"I shall be glad," he said, "if you will make one of a little party on
the yacht next Sunday, when I come back. And you also," he added to John.
Both John and I expressed our acceptance in suitable forms, and the
automobile took its way to the train.
"Your Kings Port streets," I said, as we walked back toward Mrs.
Trevise's, "are not very favorable for automobiles."
"No," he returned briefly. I don't remember that either of us found more
to say until we had reached my front door, when he asked, "Will the day
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