| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Lesser Bourgeoisie by Honore de Balzac: maintained with this strange woman, what could he see,--a trap, or a
rich and distinguished marriage offered to him. Under such a doubt as
this, to press Celeste for an immediate answer was neither clever nor
prudent; it was simply to bind himself, and close the door to the
changes, still very ill-defined, which seemed offered to him. The
result of the consultation which Theodose held with himself as he
walked along the boulevard was that he ought, for the moment, to think
only of gaining time. Consequently, instead of going to the
Thuilliers' to learn Celeste's decision, he went home, and wrote the
following little note to Thuillier:--
My dear Thuillier,--You will certainly not think it extraordinary
|
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Son of Tarzan by Edgar Rice Burroughs: to bear all my energies in overcoming his obtuseness; but the
trouble is that he is exceptionally intelligent, and learns so
quickly that I can find no fault in the matter of the preparation
of his lessons. What concerns me, however, is that fact that he
evidently takes no interest whatever in the subjects we are studying.
He merely accomplishes each lesson as a task to be rid of
as quickly as possible and I am sure that no lesson ever again
enters his mind until the hours of study and recitation once
more arrive. His sole interests seem to be feats of physical
prowess and the reading of everything that he can get hold of
relative to savage beasts and the lives and customs of uncivilized
The Son of Tarzan |
