| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne: it indeed, in great part, by his sorrows. His intellectual
gifts, his moral perceptions, his power of experiencing and
communicating emotion, were kept in a state of preternatural
activity by the prick and anguish of his daily life. His fame,
though still on its upward slope, already overshadowed the
soberer reputations of his fellow-clergymen, eminent as several
of them were. There are scholars among them, who had spent more
THE INTERIOR OF A HEART 171
The Scarlet Letter |
The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from Symposium by Plato: cause of what is fairest and best in all other things. And there comes
into my mind a line of poetry in which he is said to be the god who
'Gives peace on earth and calms the stormy deep,
Who stills the winds and bids the sufferer sleep.'
This is he who empties men of disaffection and fills them with affection,
who makes them to meet together at banquets such as these: in sacrifices,
feasts, dances, he is our lord--who sends courtesy and sends away
discourtesy, who gives kindness ever and never gives unkindness; the friend
of the good, the wonder of the wise, the amazement of the gods; desired by
those who have no part in him, and precious to those who have the better
part in him; parent of delicacy, luxury, desire, fondness, softness, grace;
|
The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from Sesame and Lilies by John Ruskin: discussion, came bravely forward and assured them that no arms were
concealed. "Vous etes anglaise, nous vous croyons; les anglaises
disent toujours la verite," was the immediate answer, and the
rioters quietly left.
Now, Sir, shall I be accused of unjustified criticism if, loving and
admiring your country, as these lines will prove, certain new
features strike me as painful discrepancies in English life?
Far be it from me to preach the contempt of all that can make life
lovable and wholesomely pleasant. I love nothing better than to see
a woman nice, neat, elegant, looking her best in the prettiest dress
that her taste and purse can afford, or your bright, fresh young
|
