The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from The Perfect Wagnerite: A Commentary on the Niblung's Ring by George Bernard Shaw: Then comes the Volsung Siegmund, following his sister bride, who
has fled into the mountains in a revulsion of horror at having
allowed herself to bring her hero to shame. Whilst she is lying
exhausted and senseless in his arms, Brynhild appears to him and
solemnly warns him that he must presently leave the earth with
her. He asks whither he must follow her. To Valhalla, to take his
place there among the heroes. He asks, shall he find his father
there? Yes. Shall he find a wife there? Yes: he will be waited on
by beautiful wishmaidens. Shall he meet his sister there? No.
Then, says Siegmund, I will not come with you.
She tries to make him understand that he cannot help himself.
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The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Emmuska Orczy: a sight fit to make the gods laugh.
Marguerite laughed heartily as Sir Andrew tried to describe
Blakeney's appearance, whose gravest difficulty always consisted in
his great height, which in France made disguise doubly difficult.
Thus an hour wore on. There were many more to spend in
enforced inactivity in Dover. Marguerite rose from the table with an
impatient sigh. She looked forward with dread to the night in the bed
upstairs, with terribly anxious thoughts to keep her company, and the
howling of the storm to help chase sleep away.
She wondered where Percy was now. The DAY DREAM was a strong,
well-built sea-going yacht. Sir Andrew had expressed the opinion
The Scarlet Pimpernel |
The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from The Augsburg Confession by Philip Melanchthon: repentance. Now, repentance consists properly of these two parts:
One is contrition, that is, terrors smiting the conscience through
the knowledge of sin; the other is faith, which is born of the
Gospel, or of absolution, and believes that for Christ's sake,
sins are forgiven, comforts the conscience, and delivers it from
terrors. Then good works are bound to follow, which are the fruits
of repentance.
They condemn the Anabaptists, who deny that those once justified
can lose the Holy Ghost. Also those who contend that some may
attain to such perfection in this life that they cannot sin.
The Novatians also are condemned, who would not absolve such as had
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