| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Father Goriot by Honore de Balzac: what lay before them to do that evening, and yet neither of them
felt able to rise and go. Vautrin gave a side glance at them from
time to time, and watched the change that came over their faces,
choosing the moment when their eyes drooped and seemed about to
close, to bend over Rastignac and to say in his ear:--
"My little lad, you are not quite shrewd enough to outwit Papa
Vautrin yet, and he is too fond of you to let you make a mess of
your affairs. When I have made up my mind to do a thing, no one
short of Providence can put me off. Aha! we were for going round
to warn old Taillefer, telling tales out of school! The oven is
hot, the dough is kneaded, the bread is ready for the oven; to-
 Father Goriot |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from A Tramp Abroad by Mark Twain: from the Orient and used by tourists all over Europe.
Harris carried the little watch-like machine called
a "pedometer," whose office is to keep count of a man's
steps and tell how far he has walked. Everybody stopped
to admire our costumes and give us a hearty "Pleasant march
to you!"
When we got downtown I found that we could go by rail to
within five miles of Heilbronn. The train was just starting,
so we jumped aboard and went tearing away in splendid spirits.
It was agreed all around that we had done wisely,
because it would be just as enjoyable to walk DOWN the Neckar
|