| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from Reason Discourse by Rene Descartes: however little, which I actually possessed, I should have been able, for
the same reason, to have had from myself the whole remainder of
perfection, of the want of which I was conscious, and thus could of myself
have become infinite, eternal, immutable, omniscient, all-powerful, and,
in fine, have possessed all the perfections which I could recognize in
God. For in order to know the nature of God (whose existence has been
established by the preceding reasonings), as far as my own nature
permitted, I had only to consider in reference to all the properties of
which I found in my mind some idea, whether their possession was a mark
of perfection; and I was assured that no one which indicated any
imperfection was in him, and that none of the rest was awanting. Thus I
Reason Discourse |
The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from Memories and Portraits by Robert Louis Stevenson: suffered to pretend to be dead, I am sometimes reminded of a saying
in an earlier volume: "ENFIN, DIT MISS STEWART," - and it was of
Bragelonne she spoke - "ENFIN IL A FAIL QUELQUECHOSE: C'EST, MA
FOI! BIEN HEUREUX." I am reminded of it, as I say; and the next
moment, when Athos dies of his death, and my dear d'Artagnan bursts
into his storm of sobbing, I can but deplore my flippancy.
Or perhaps it is La Valliere that the reader of VINGT ANS APRES is
inclined to flee. Well, he is right there too, though not so
right. Louise is no success. Her creator has spared no pains; she
is well-meant, not ill-designed, sometimes has a word that rings
out true; sometimes, if only for a breath, she may even engage our
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The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson:
Treasure Island |
