| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from The Unseen World and Other Essays by John Fiske: unfettered strength, might well, in their eyes, be a veritable
portrait of divinity. To a Greek, beauty of form was a
consecrated thing. More than once a culprit got off with his life
because it would have been thought sacrilegious to put an end to
such a symmetrical creature. And for a similar reason, the
Greeks, though perhaps not more humane than the Europeans of the
Middle Ages, rarely allowed the human body to be mutilated or
tortured. The condemned criminal must be marred as little as
possible; and he was, therefore, quietly poisoned, instead of
being hung, beheaded, or broken on the wheel.
Is not the unapproachable excellence of Greek statuary--that art
The Unseen World and Other Essays |
The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving: competitor had disappeard. "If I can but reach that bridge,"
thought Ichabod, " I am safe." Just then he heard the black steed
panting and blowing close behind him; he even fancied that he
felt his hot breath. Another convulsive kick in the ribs, and old
Gunpowder sprang upon the bridge; he thundered over the
resounding planks; he gained the opposite side; and now Ichabod
cast a look behind to see if his pursuer should vanish, according
to rule, in a flash of fire and brimstone. Just then he saw the
goblin rising in his stirrups, and in the very act of hurling his
head at him. Ichabod endeavored to dodge the horrible missile,
but too late. It encountered his cranium with a tremendous
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow |
The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court by Mark Twain: smart interest. Sandy's excitement increased every
moment; and so did mine, for that sort of thing is
catching. My heart got to thumping. You can't
reason with your heart; it has its own laws, and
thumps about things which the intellect scorns. Pres-
ently, when Sandy slid from the horse, motioned me
to stop, and went creeping stealthily, with her head
bent nearly to her knees, toward a row of bushes that
bordered a declivity, the thumpings grew stronger and
quicker. And they kept it up while she was gaining
her ambush and getting her glimpse over the declivity;
A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court |
