| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Gods of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs: I fell in behind them and soon we were at the cell in which
the great Thark had been chained. Two of the warriors remained
without while the man with the keys entered with the Thark
to fasten his irons upon him once more. The two outside
started to stroll slowly in the direction of the spiral
runway which led to the floors above, and in a moment were
lost to view beyond a turn in the corridor.
The torch had been stuck in a socket beside the door, so
that its rays illuminated both the corridor and the cell at the
same time. As I saw the two warriors disappear I approached the
entrance to the cell, with a well-defined plan already formulated.
The Gods of Mars |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from A Daughter of Eve by Honore de Balzac: threshold of private life. His real home, his fine existence, his
presentation of himself before his friends, was in the house of
Mademoiselle Florine, a second-class comedy actress, where, for ten
years, the said friends, journalists, certain authors, and writers in
general disported themselves in the society of equally illustrious
actresses. For ten years Raoul had attached himself so closely to this
woman that he passed more than half his life with her; he took all his
meals at her house unless he had some friend to invite, or an
invitation to dinner elsewhere.
To consummate corruption, Florine added a lively wit, which
intercourse with artists had developed and practice sharpened day by
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