| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from The Recruit by Honore de Balzac: man would find himself in love with her, and yet be restrained by a
sort of respectful fear, inspired by her courtly and polished manners.
Her soul, naturally noble, but strengthened by cruel trials, was far
indeed from the common run, and men did justice to it. Such a soul
necessarily required a lofty passion; and the affections of Madame de
Dey were concentrated on a single sentiment,--that of motherhood. The
happiness and pleasure of which her married life was deprived, she
found in the passionate love she bore her son. She loved him not only
with the pure and deep devotion of a mother, but with the coquetry of
a mistress, and the jealousy of a wife. She was miserable away from
him, uneasy at his absence, could never see him enough, and loved only
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The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from Another Study of Woman by Honore de Balzac: feats which can only be successful in the eyes of the blind. 'But by
dint of going to church I have become very incredulous. On the day of
my first cold, and your first treachery, when you thought I was in
bed, you received the Duke, and you told me you had seen no one.'--'Do
you know that your conduct is infamous?'--'In what respect? I consider
your marriage to the Duke an excellent arrangement; he gives you a
great name, the only rank that suits you, a brilliant and
distinguished position. You will be one of the queens of Paris. I
should be doing you a wrong if I placed any obstacle in the way of
this prospect, this distinguished life, this splendid alliance. Ah!
Charlotte, some day you will do me justice by discovering how unlike
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The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from Commentary on the Epistle to the Galatians by Martin Luther: VERSE 11. I am afraid of you, lest I have bestowed upon you labor in
vain.
It grieves the Apostle to think that he might have preached the Gospel to
the Galatians in vain. But this statement expresses more than grief. Behind
his apparent disappointment at their failure lurks the sharp reprimand
that they had forsaken Christ and that they were proving themselves to be
obstinate unbelievers. But he does not openly condemn them for fear that
oversharp criticism might alienate them altogether. He therefore changes
the tone of his voice and speaks kindly to them.
VERSE 12. Be as I am; for I am as ye are.
Up to this point Paul has been occupied with the doctrinal aspect of the
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