| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Moon-Face and Other Stories by Jack London: He was in a narrow hole that was seven feet deep. His head did not come to the
surface of the ground. He was in a trap.
He remained squatting on his heels. He was quite cool and collected; but his
mind, considering every factor, showed him only his helplessness. He continued
rubbing the dirt from the quartz fragments and throwing the gold into the pan.
There was nothing else for him to do. Yet he knew that he would have to rise
up, sooner or later, and face the danger that breathed at his back.
The minutes passed, and with the passage of each minute he knew that by so
much he was nearer the time when he must stand up, or else--and his wet shirt
went cold against his flesh again at the thought--or else he might receive
death as he stooped there over his treasure.
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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 Man against the Sky by Edwin Arlington Robinson: He knows how little room there is in there
For crude and futile animosities,
And how much for the joy of being whole,
And how much for long sorrow and old pain.
On our side there are some who may be given
To grow old wondering what he thinks of us
And some above us, who are, in his eyes,
Above himself, -- and that's quite right and English.
Yet here we smile, or disappoint the gods
Who made it so: the gods have always eyes
To see men scratch; and they see one down here
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