| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from The Ancient Regime by Charles Kingsley: persistent and obstinate folly, cloaking itself under the venerable
shapes of tradition and authority. For under a free press, a nation
must ultimately be guided not by a caste, not by a class, not by
mere wealth, not by the passions of a mob: but by mind; by the net
result of all the common-sense of its members; and in the present
default of genius, which is un-common sense, common-sense seems to
be the only, if not the best, safeguard for poor humanity.
1867
LECTURE I--CASTE
[Delivered at the Royal Institution, London, 1867.]
These Lectures are meant to be comments on the state of France
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The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from Sylvie and Bruno by Lewis Carroll: Shakespeare's greatest Character.
According to this eminent interpreter of the Drama, Hamlet wore a short
black cloak (which he chiefly used for muffling up his face, as if he
suffered a good deal from toothache), and turned out his toes very much
as he walked. "To be or not to be!" Hamlet remarked in a cheerful
tone, and then turned head-over-heels several times, his cloak dropping
off in the performance.
I felt a little disappointed: Bruno's conception of the part seemed so
wanting in dignity. "Won't he say any more of the speech?" I whispered
to Sylvie.
"I think not," Sylvie whispered in reply. "He generally turns
Sylvie and Bruno |
The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton: for them, and they drove off among the dispersing
carriages, May handling the reins and Archer sitting at
her side.
The afternoon sunlight still lingered upon the bright
lawns and shrubberies, and up and down Bellevue Avenue
rolled a double line of victorias, dog-carts, landaus
and "vis-a-vis," carrying well-dressed ladies and
gentlemen away from the Beaufort garden-party, or homeward
from their daily afternoon turn along the Ocean
Drive.
"Shall we go to see Granny?" May suddenly
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