| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Tristram Shandy by Laurence Sterne: very great. I suppose so--said my uncle Toby: and therefore when a
person, continued Mrs. Wadman, is so much at his ease as you are--so happy,
captain Shandy, in yourself, your friends and your amusements--I wonder,
what reasons can incline you to the state--
--They are written, quoth my uncle Toby, in the Common-Prayer Book.
Thus far my uncle Toby went on warily, and kept within his depth, leaving
Mrs. Wadman to sail upon the gulph as she pleased.
--As for children--said Mrs. Wadman--though a principal end perhaps of the
institution, and the natural wish, I suppose, of every parent--yet do not
we all find, they are certain sorrows, and very uncertain comforts? and
what is there, dear sir, to pay one for the heart-achs--what compensation
|
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Running a Thousand Miles for Freedom by William and Ellen Craft: all men are created equal; that they are endowed
by their Creator with certain inalienable rights;
that among these, are life, liberty, and the pursuit
of happiness;" we could not understand by what
right we were held as "chattels." Therefore, we
felt perfectly justified in undertaking the dan-
gerous and exciting task of "running a thousand
miles" in order to obtain those rights which are so
vividly set forth in the Declaration.
I beg those who would know the particulars of
our journey, to peruse these pages.
Running a Thousand Miles for Freedom |
