| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from The Children of the Night by Edwin Arlington Robinson: If weakness it were to stand and murder
Before men's eyes the man who had murdered
Me, and driven my burning forehead
With horns for the world to laugh at. Trust me!
And try to believe my words but a portion
Of what God's purpose made me! The coward
Within me cries for this; and I beg you
Now, as I come to the end, to remember
That women and men are on earth to travel
All on a different road. Hereafter
The roads may meet. . . . I trust in something --
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The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from The Smalcald Articles by Dr. Martin Luther: it is neither necessary nor commanded, but is senseless and
doubtful, and besides harmful. Hence here, too, there can be
no yielding or surrendering [to yield or concede anything here
is not lawful], etc. And let this be preached, that such
pilgrimages are not necessary, but dangerous; and then see
what will become of them. [For thus they will perish of their
own accord.]
Fourthly. Fraternities [or societies], in which cloisters,
chapters, vicars have assigned and communicated (by a legal
contract and sale) all masses and good works, etc., both for
the living and the dead. This is not only altogether a human
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The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from The Pool of Blood in the Pastor's Study by Grace Isabel Colbron and Augusta Groner: the circle of light thrown by the lamps. He was glad to be alone
- for only when he was alone could his brain do its best work. He
took up one of the lamps and opened the door to the room in which,
as far as could be known, the murder had been committed. He
walked in carefully and, setting the lamp on the desk, examined the
articles lying about on it. There was nothing of importance to be
found there. An open Bible and a sheet of paper with notes for the
day's sermon lay on top of the desk. In the drawers, none of which
were locked, were official papers, books, manuscripts of former
sermons, and a few unimportant personal notes.
The flame of the lamp flickered in the breeze that came from the
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