| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Wife, et al by Anton Chekhov: "he," of course, some new celebrity. Dymov was not in the
drawing-room, and no one remembered his existence. But exactly at
half-past eleven the door leading into the dining-room opened,
and Dymov would appear with his good-natured, gentle smile and
say, rubbing his hands:
"Come to supper, gentlemen."
They all went into the dining-room, and every time found on the
table exactly the same things: a dish of oysters, a piece of ham
or veal, sardines, cheese, caviare, mushrooms, vodka, and two
decanters of wine.
My dear _maitre d' hotel!_" Olga Ivanovna would say, clasping her
|
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Gods of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs: It was rising at an angle of about forty-five degrees dead
ahead of us, with the evident intention of combing us with
grappling hooks from above as it skimmed low over our deck.
There was but one forlorn hope for us, and I took it.
It was useless to try to pass over her, for that would
have allowed her to force us against the rocky dome above,
and we were already too near that as it was. To have attempted
to dive below her would have put us entirely at her mercy,
and precisely where she wanted us. On either side a hundred
other menacing craft were hastening toward us. The alternative
was filled with risk--in fact it was all risk, with but a
The Gods of Mars |
