| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Early Short Fiction of Edith Wharton by Edith Wharton: man to stand in Venice what he would have resented in Salem; but
the devil of it was that this black fellow seemed to be pointing
to the letter in his breast; and this suspicion was confirmed by
the Count's agitated whisper.
"This is one of the agents of the Ten.--For God's sake, no
outcry." He exchanged a word or two with the mace-bearer and
again turned to Tony. "You have been seen concealing a letter
about your person--"
"And what of that?" says Tony furiously.
"Gently, gently, my master. A letter handed to you by the page
of Donna Polixena Cador.--A black business! Oh, a very black
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Mirror of the Sea by Joseph Conrad: No more unpromising undertaking could be imagined. The very
material for the task seemed wanting. The Cervonis, if not
handsome men, were good sturdy flesh and blood. But this
extraordinarily lean and livid youth seemed to have no more blood
in him than a snail.
"Some cursed witch must have stolen my brother's child from the
cradle and put that spawn of a starved devil in its place," Dominic
would say to me. "Look at him! Just look at him!"
To look at Cesar was not pleasant. His parchment skin, showing
dead white on his cranium through the thin wisps of dirty brown
hair, seemed to be glued directly and tightly upon his big bones,
The Mirror of the Sea |
