| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Lysis by Plato: further object, whatever it may be, which we value most of all, and for the
sake of which gold and all our other possessions are acquired by us. Am I
not right?
Yes, certainly.
And may not the same be said of the friend? That which is only dear to us
for the sake of something else is improperly said to be dear, but the truly
dear is that in which all these so-called dear friendships terminate.
That, he said, appears to be true.
And the truly dear or ultimate principle of friendship is not for the sake
of any other or further dear.
True.
Lysis |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Vision Splendid by William MacLeod Raine: out. Some bell of warning was ringing in him. He was a man, young
and desirous, subject to all the frailties of his sex, holding
experiences in his past that had left him far from a puritan. And
she was a woman, of unschooled impulses, with unsuspected banked
passions, an innocent creature in whom primeval physical life
rioted.
He moved toward the door, his left fist beating into the palm of
his right hand. He must protect her, against himself--and against
her innocent affection for him.
She fluttered past him, barring the way. Her cheeks were flaming
with shame.
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