| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from The Travels of Sir John Mandeville by Sir John Mandeville: virtue, as of any other thing; and then they did themselves much
harm, and they should never quench the fire. But thus they do:
they anoint their hands and their feet [with a juice] made of
snails and of other things made therefore, of the which the
serpents and the venomous beasts hate and dread the savour; and
that maketh them flee before them, because of the smell, and then
they gather it surely enough.
Also toward the head of that forest is the city of Polombe. And
above the city is a great mountain that also is clept Polombe. And
of that mount the city hath his name.
And at the foot of that mount is a fair well and a great, that hath
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The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from A Straight Deal by Owen Wister: the neck and the jaw and the eye and the nose--and all the while the
British and American officers, splendidly discreet, saw none of it.
British soldiers were carried back to their streets, still fighting,
bunged Yankees staggered everywhere--but not an officer saw any of it.
Black eyes the next day, and other tokens, very plainly showed who had
been at this party. Thereafter a much better feeling prevailed between
Tommies and Yanks.
A more peaceful contact produced excellent consequences at an encampment
of Americans in England. The Americans had brought over an idea,
apparently, that the English were "easy." They tried it on in sundry
ways, but ended by the discovery that, while engaged upon this
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The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from Damaged Goods by Upton Sinclair: is caused by ignorance and urges education, public enlightenment
and franker recognition of existing conditions. All this may be
needed, but still we may well doubt its effectiveness as a
remedy. The drunken Helot argument is not a strong one, and
those who lead a vicious life know more about its risks than any
teacher or preacher could tell them. Brieux also urges the
requirement of health certificates for marriage, such as many
clergymen now insist upon and which doubtless will be made
compulsory before long in many of our States.
Brieux paints in black colors yet is no fanatic; in fact, he will
be criticised by many as being too tolerant of human weakness.
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