| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Allan Quatermain by H. Rider Haggard: aghast -- protective armour being unknown among these tribes
-- and then he yelled out at the top of his voice --
'They are devils -- bewitched, bewitched!' And seized by a
sudden panic, he threw down his spear, and began to fly. I cut
short his career with a bullet, and Umslopogaas brained his man,
and then the panic spread to the others.
'Bewitched, bewitched!' they cried, and tried to escape in every
direction, utterly demoralized and broken-spirited, for the most
part even throwing down their shields and spears.
On the last scene of that dreadful fight I need not dwell. It
was a slaughter great and grim, in which no quarter was asked
Allan Quatermain |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Country Doctor by Honore de Balzac: "We do not quarrel with dancing in itself, captain; it is forbidden
because it leads to immorality, which troubles the peace of the
countryside and corrupts its manners. Does not the attempt to purify
the spirit of the family and to maintain the sanctity of family ties
strike at the root of the evil?"
"Some irregularities are always to be found in every district, I
know," said M. Tonnelet, "but they very seldom occur among us. Perhaps
there are peasants who remove their neighbor's landmark without much
scruple; or they may cut a few osiers that belong to some one else, if
they happen to want some; but these are mere peccadilloes compared
with the wrongdoing that goes on among a town population. Moreover,
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