| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Westward Ho! by Charles Kingsley: all the glories of a new scarlet hood, from under which her large
dark languid eyes gleamed soft lightnings through poor Eustace's
heart and marrow. Up to them she tripped on delicate ankles and
tiny feet, tall, lithe, and graceful, a true West-country lass; and
as she passed them with a pretty blush and courtesy, even Campian
looked back at the fair innocent creature, whose long dark curls,
after the then country fashion, rolled down from beneath the hood
below her waist, entangling the soul of Eustace Leigh within their
glossy nets.
"There!" whispered he, trembling from head to foot. "Can you
excuse me now?"
|
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from This Side of Paradise by F. Scott Fitzgerald: exalted seeming the most stricken.
The cardinal, like an archangel in cope and mitre, sprinkled the
holy water; the organ broke into sound; the choir began to sing
the Requiem Eternam.
All these people grieved because they had to some extent depended
upon Monsignor. Their grief was more than sentiment for the
"crack in his voice or a certain break in his walk," as Wells put
it. These people had leaned on Monsignor's faith, his way of
finding cheer, of making religion a thing of lights and shadows,
making all light and shadow merely aspects of God. People felt
safe when he was near.
This Side of Paradise |
