| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Secret Adversary by Agatha Christie: "No--I hid them."
"You hid them?"
"Yes. I got uneasy. People seemed to be watching me. It scared
me--badly." She put her hand to her head. "It's almost the last
thing I remember before waking up in the hospital...."
"Go on," said Sir James, in his quiet penetrating tones. "What do
you remember?"
She turned to him obediently.
"It was at Holyhead. I came that way--I don't remember why...."
"That doesn't matter. Go on."
"In the confusion on the quay I slipped away. Nobody saw me. I
 Secret Adversary |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Criminal Sociology by Enrico Ferri: brothers, in these monstrous human hives (which Bentham brought to
the notice of the French Constituent Assembly under the name of
``panopticons''), and to discharge him from prison at the end of
his term, and plunge him into all the temptations of an atmosphere
to which his lungs had become disaccustomed.
Then the ``progressive system'' was introduced, first in
England, where it was devised by Maconochie, next in Ireland,
which has given it a name, alternated with that of Sir W. Crofton.
This is the most symmetrically perfect machinery, though reminding
one somewhat of a company of marionettes. It confirms what was
said by Haeckel, that the actual is a summary of the moods of
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