| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Flame and Shadow by Sara Teasdale: There is nothing to hope for, I am tired,
And heavy as the dead.
Bells
At six o'clock of an autumn dusk
With the sky in the west a rusty red,
The bells of the mission down in the valley
Cry out that the day is dead.
The first star pricks as sharp as steel --
Why am I suddenly so cold?
Three bells, each with a separate sound
Clang in the valley, wearily tolled.
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Varieties of Religious Experience by William James: of my heart was, 'I want to pour my whole soul out to God.' The
rising of my soul was so great that I rushed into the back room
of the front office, to pray. There was no fire and no light in
the room; nevertheless it appeared to me as if it were perfectly
light. As I went in and shut the door after me, it seemed as if
I met the Lord Jesus Christ face to face. It did not occur to me
then, nor did it for some time afterwards, that it was wholly a
mental state. On the contrary, it seemed to me that I saw him as
I would see any other man. He said nothing but looked at me in
such a manner as to break me right down at his feet. I have
always since regarded this as a most remarkable state of mind;
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