| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from From the Earth to the Moon by Jules Verne: "Here is the result of my calculations," replied Barbicane.
"A shot of 108 inches in diameter, and twelve inches in
thickness, would weigh, in cast-iron, 67,440 pounds; cast in
aluminum, its weight will be reduced to 19,250 pounds."
"Capital!" cried the major; "but do you know that, at nine
dollars a pound, this projectile will cost----"
"One hundred and seventy-three thousand and fifty dollars ($173,050).
I know it quite well. But fear not, my friends; the money will not
be wanting for our enterprise. I will answer for it. Now what say
you to aluminum, gentlemen?"
"Adopted!" replied the three members of the committee. So ended
From the Earth to the Moon |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells: incurred, the attraction of peeping was for both of us irresist-
ible. And I recall now with a sort of wonder that, in spite
of the infinite danger in which we were between starvation
and a still more terrible death, we could yet struggle bitterly
for that horrible privilege of sight. We would race across the
kitchen in a grotesque way between eagerness and the dread
of making a noise, and strike each other, and thrust add kick,
within a few inches of exposure.
The fact is that we had absolutely incompatible dispositions
and habits of thought and action, and our danger and isolation
only accentuated the incompatibility. At Halliford I had al-
War of the Worlds |
