| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Mysterious Island by Jules Verne: "What think you of my life, gentlemen?"
Cyrus Harding extended his hand to the ci-devant prince and replied
gravely, "Sir, your error was in supposing that the past can be
resuscitated, and in contending against inevitable progress. It is one of
those errors which some admire, others blame; which God alone can judge. He
who is mistaken in an action which he sincerely believes to be right may be
an enemy, but retains our esteem. Your error is one that we may admire, and
your name has nothing to fear from the judgment of history, which does not
condemn heroic folly, but its results."
The old man's breast swelled with emotion, and raising his hand to
heaven,--
The Mysterious Island |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Life of the Spider by J. Henri Fabre: right, the stronger. In the same way, nearly all the Molluscs that
have spiral shells roll their coils from left to right. Among the
numerous species in both land and water fauna, only a very few are
exceptional and turn from right to left.
It would be interesting to try and work out to what extent that
part of the zoological kingdom which boasts a two-sided structure
is divided into right-handed and left-handed animals. Can
dissymetry, that source of contrasts, be a general rule? Or are
there neutrals, endowed with equal powers of skill and energy on
both sides? Yes, there are; and the Spider is one of them. She
enjoys the very enviable privilege of possessing a left side which
The Life of the Spider |
