| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Schoolmistress and Other Stories by Anton Chekhov: Vassilyev's heart was throbbing and his face burned. He felt
ashamed before these visitors of his presence here, and he felt
disgusted and miserable. He was tormented by the thought that he,
a decent and loving man (such as he had hitherto considered
himself), hated these women and felt nothing but repulsion
towards them. He felt pity neither for the women nor the
musicians nor the flunkeys.
"It is because I am not trying to understand them," he thought.
"They are all more like animals than human beings, but of course
they are human beings all the same , they have souls. One must
understand them and then judge. . . ."
The Schoolmistress and Other Stories |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Tattine by Ruth Ogden [Mrs. Charles W. Ide]: mean the part of you that makes you sometimes love to do naughty things.
"There's another part of your nature that is dear and good …nd sweet, and
doesn't need to be changed at all. But Betsy and Doctor can only be trained in
a few ways, and never to really change their nature.
"Setters have hunted rabbits always, kittens have preyed upon birds, and
donkeys, as a rule, have stood still whenever they wanted to."
"But why, I wonder, were they made so?"
"You nor I nor nohodv knows, Tattine, but isn't it fine that for some reason
we are made differently? If we will only be reasonable and try hard enough and
in the right way, we can overcome anything."
"It's a little like a sermon, Grandma Luty."
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