| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Battle of the Books by Jonathan Swift: pretence for this charge. But so effectual care hath been since
taken to remove those prejudices, by an entire change in the
methods of education, that (with honour I mention it to our polite
innovators) the young gentlemen, who are now on the scene, seem to
have not the least tincture left of those infusions, or string of
those weeds, and by consequence the reason for abolishing nominal
Christianity upon that pretext is wholly ceased.
For the rest, it may perhaps admit a controversy, whether the
banishing all notions of religion whatsoever would be inconvenient
for the vulgar. Not that I am in the least of opinion with those
who hold religion to have been the invention of politicians, to
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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 Voice of the City by O. Henry: box-car letters? Suppose they do take up a case
what does it amount to? The police are easy enough
to fool; but what do the newspapers do? They send
a lot of pin-head reporters around to the scene; and
they make for the nearest saloon and have beer while
they take photos of the bartender's oldest daughter
in evening dress, to print as the fiancee of the young
man in the tenth story, who thought he heard a noise
below on the night of the murder. That's about as
near as the newspapers ever come to running down
Mr. Burglar."
The Voice of the City |
