| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from Concerning Christian Liberty by Martin Luther: are, along with it. For this would be to halt between two
opinions, to worship Baal, and to kiss the hand to him, which is
a very great iniquity, as Job says. Therefore, when you begin to
believe, you learn at the same time that all that is in you is
utterly guilty, sinful, and damnable, according to that saying,
"All have sinned, and come short of the glory of God" (Rom. iii.
23), and also: "There is none righteous, no, not one; they are
all gone out of the way; they are together become unprofitable:
there is none that doeth good, no, not one" (Rom. iii. 10—12).
When you have learnt this, you will know that Christ is necessary
for you, since He has suffered and risen again for you, that,
|
The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from The Arrow of Gold by Joseph Conrad: sleep there from sheer exhaustion. Some time during the night I
woke up chilled to the bone and in the dark. These were horrors
and no mistake. I dragged myself upstairs to bed past the
indefatigable statuette holding up the ever-miserable light. The
black-and-white hall was like an ice-house.
The main consideration which induced me to call on the Marquis of
Villarel was the fact that after all I was a discovery of Dona
Rita's, her own recruit. My fidelity and steadfastness had been
guaranteed by her and no one else. I couldn't bear the idea of her
being criticized by every empty-headed chatterer belonging to the
Cause. And as, apart from that, nothing mattered much, why, then -
The Arrow of Gold |
The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from La Grenadiere by Honore de Balzac: by chance man overlooks some dry cranny in the rocks, Nature puts in a
fig-tree, or sows wildflowers or strawberries in sheltered nooks among
the stones.
Nowhere else in all the world will you find a human dwelling so humble
and yet so imposing, so rich in fruit, and fragrant scents, and wide
views of country. Here is a miniature Touraine in the heart of
Touraine--all its flowers and fruits and all the characteristic beauty
of the land are fully represented. Here are grapes of every district,
figs and peaches and pears of every kind; melons are grown out of
doors as easily as licorice plants, Spanish broom, Italian oleanders,
and jessamines from the Azores. The Loire lies at your feet. You look
|
