| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Mad King by Edgar Rice Burroughs: victory over the men of the Blentz faction.
Von der Tann knew that they would fight to the last ditch
for their hero should he come to claim the crown. Yet how
would they fight--to which side would they cleave, were
he to attempt to frustrate the design of the Regent to seize
the throne of Lutha?
Already Peter of Blentz had approached the bishop, who,
eager to propitiate whoever seemed most likely to become
king, gave the signal for the procession that was to mark
the solemn bearing of the crown of Lutha up the aisle to
the chancel.
The Mad King |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Reason Discourse by Rene Descartes: although the latter were not, it would still continue to be all that it is.
After this I inquired in general into what is essential I to the truth and
certainty of a proposition; for since I had discovered one which I knew to
be true, I thought that I must likewise be able to discover the ground of
this certitude. And as I observed that in the words I think, therefore I
am, there is nothing at all which gives me assurance of their truth beyond
this, that I see very clearly that in order to think it is necessary to
exist, I concluded that I might take, as a general rule, the principle,
that all the things which we very clearly and distinctly conceive are
true, only observing, however, that there is some difficulty in rightly
determining the objects which we distinctly conceive.
Reason Discourse |
