| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from Westward Ho! by Charles Kingsley: extermination of the North American tribes; and had it not been for
the admirable good sense and constancy of Amyas, Ayacanora might
have ended even more miserably than did the far-famed Pocahontas,
daughter of the Virginian king; who, after having been received at
Court by the old pedant James the First, with the honors of a
sister sovereign, and having become the reputed ancestress of more
than one ancient Virginian family, ended her days in wretchedness
in some Wapping garret.
For the mind of the savage, crushed by the sight of the white man's
superior skill, and wealth, and wisdom, loses at first its self-
respect; while his body, pampered with easily obtained luxuries,
|
The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from Louis Lambert by Honore de Balzac: the coach where I had my seat, he said jestingly:
"You will not be crowded, Monsieur Lefebvre!"--I was, in fact, alone.
On hearing this name, and seeing a white-haired old man, who looked
eighty at least, I naturally thought of Lambert's uncle. After a few
ingenious questions, I discovered that I was not mistaken. The good
man had been looking after his vintage at Mer, and was returning to
Blois. I then asked for some news of my old "chum." At the first word,
the old priest's face, as grave and stern already as that of a soldier
who has gone through many hardships, became more sad and dark; the
lines on his forehead were slightly knit, he set his lips, and said,
with a suspicious glance:
Louis Lambert |
The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad: "After this I got embraced, told to wear flannel, be sure
to write often, and so on--and I left. In the street--I don't
know why--a queer feeling came to me that I was an imposter.
Odd thing that I, who used to clear out for any part of the world
at twenty-four hours' notice, with less thought than most men give
to the crossing of a street, had a moment--I won't say of hesitation,
but of startled pause, before this commonplace affair. The best
way I can explain it to you is by saying that, for a second or two,
I felt as though, instead of going to the centre of a continent,
I were about to set off for the centre of the earth.
"I left in a French steamer, and she called in every blamed
Heart of Darkness |
