| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Men of Iron by Howard Pyle: wrath. "Nay," said he, stoutly, "I be no Lord and I be no Prince,
but I be as good as thou. For am I not the son of thy onetime
very true comrade and thy kinsman--to wit, the Lord Falworth,
whom, as thou knowest, is poor and broken, and blind, and
helpless, and outlawed, and banned? Yet," cried he, grinding his
teeth, as the thought of it all rushed in upon him, "I would
rather be in his place than in yours; for though he be ruined,
you--"
He had just sense enough to stop there.
The Earl, gripping his staff behind his back, and with his head a
little bent, was looking keenly at the lad from under his shaggy
 Men of Iron |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Songs of Innocence and Experience by William Blake: In the age of gold,
Free from winter's cold,
Youth and maiden bright,
To the holy light,
Naked in the sunny beams delight.
Once a youthful pair,
Filled with softest care,
Met in garden bright
Where the holy light
Had just removed the curtains of the night.
There, in rising day,
 Songs of Innocence and Experience |