| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from Moll Flanders by Daniel Defoe: at these hell-hounds, as he called them, was a little over, he
looked a little composed, began to be cheerful, and as I was
telling him how glad I was to have him once more out of their
hands, he took me in his arms, and acknowledged with great
tenderness that I had given him the best advice possible. 'My
dear,' says he, 'thou has twice saved my life; from henceforward
it shall be all employed for you, and I'll always take your advice.'
The ship began now to fill; several passengers came on board,
who were embarked on no criminal account, and these had
accommodations assigned them in the great cabin, and other
parts of the ship, whereas we, as convicts, were thrust down
Moll Flanders |
The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from What is Man? by Mark Twain: simply the abolitionists. They had pass-words, grips, and signs;
they had secret meetings; their initiations were conducted with
gloomy pomps and ceremonies, at midnight.
They always spoke of Hardy as "the Martyr," and every little
while they moved through the principal street in procession--at
midnight, black-robed, masked, to the measured tap of the solemn
drum--on pilgrimage to the Martyr's grave, where they went
through with some majestic fooleries and swore vengeance upon his
murderers. They gave previous notice of the pilgrimage by small
posters, and warned everybody to keep indoors and darken all
houses along the route, and leave the road empty. These warnings
What is Man? |
The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from First Inaugural Address by Abraham Lincoln: by the judgment of this great tribunal, the American people.
By the frame of the government under which we live, this same people
have wisely given their public servants but little power for mischief;
and have, with equal wisdom, provided for the return of that little
to their own hands at very short intervals. While the people retain
their virtue and vigilance, no administration, by any extreme of
wickedness or folly, can very seriously injure the government
in the short space of four years.
My countrymen, one and all, think calmly and WELL upon this
whole subject. Nothing valuable can be lost by taking time.
If there be an object to HURRY any of you in hot haste to a step
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