| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from A Voyage to Abyssinia by Father Lobo: King had but one ear? if he had two, says he, it seems likely that
the man who killed him cut off one and keeps it as a proof of his
exploit. The Abyssin stood confused, and the Portuguese produced
the ear out of his pocket. Every one commended the stratagem; and
the Emperor commanded the Abyssin to restore all the presents he had
received, and delivered them with many more to Peter Leon.
I imagined the reader would not be displeased to be informed who
this man was, whose precious remains were searched for by a viceroy
of Tigre, at the command of the Emperor himself. The commission was
directed to me, nor did I ever receive one that was more welcome on
many accounts. I had contracted an intimate friendship with the
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The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from The Prince by Nicolo Machiavelli: some European and eastern statesmen with principles of action, "The
Prince" is bestrewn with truths that can be proved at every turn. Men
are still the dupes of their simplicity and greed, as they were in the
days of Alexander VI. The cloak of religion still conceals the vices
which Machiavelli laid bare in the character of Ferdinand of Aragon.
Men will not look at things as they really are, but as they wish them
to be--and are ruined. In politics there are no perfectly safe
courses; prudence consists in choosing the least dangerous ones. Then
--to pass to a higher plane--Machiavelli reiterates that, although
crimes may win an empire, they do not win glory. Necessary wars are
just wars, and the arms of a nation are hallowed when it has no other
The Prince |
The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from Lost Continent by Edgar Rice Burroughs: savagery imaginable to the mind of man.
And then the leader charged, and upon the hideous
pandemonium broke the sharp crack of my rifle, once, twice,
thrice. Three lions rolled, struggling and biting, to the
floor. Victory seized my arm, with a quick, "This way!
Here is a door," and a moment later we were in a tiny
antechamber at the foot of a narrow stone staircase.
Up this we backed, Victory just behind me, as the first of
the remaining lions leaped from the throne room and sprang
for the stairs. Again I fired, but others of the ferocious
beasts leaped over their fallen fellows and pursued us.
Lost Continent |
