| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Montezuma's Daughter by H. Rider Haggard: from its loop I gave the puma battle, striking a blow upon his head
that rolled him over and caused the blood to pour. In a moment he
was up and at me roaring with rage. Whirling the wooden sword with
both hands I smote him in mid air, the blow passing between his
open paws and catching him full on the snout and head. So hard was
this stroke that my weapon was shattered, still it did not stop the
puma. In a second I was cast to the earth with a great shock, and
the brute was on me tearing and biting at my chest and neck. It
was well for me at that moment that I wore a garment of quilted
cotton, otherwise I must have been ripped open, and even with this
covering I was sadly torn, and to this day I bear the marks of the
 Montezuma's Daughter |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Philebus by Plato: PROTARCHUS: Certainly.
SOCRATES: And whereas the high and low, the swift and the slow are
infinite or unlimited, does not the addition of the principles aforesaid
introduce a limit, and perfect the whole frame of music?
PROTARCHUS: Yes, certainly.
SOCRATES: Or, again, when cold and heat prevail, does not the introduction
of them take away excess and indefiniteness, and infuse moderation and
harmony?
PROTARCHUS: Certainly.
SOCRATES: And from a like admixture of the finite and infinite come the
seasons, and all the delights of life?
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