| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from Herland by Charlotte Gilman: "A valuable dog would be stolen if he was let loose," I said.
"We put collars on them, with the owner's name, in case they do
stray. Besides, they get into fights--a valuable dog might easily
be killed by a bigger one."
"I see," she said. "They fight when they meet--is that common?"
We admitted that it was.
"They are kept shut up, or chained." She paused again, and asked,
"Is not a dog fond of running? Are they not built for speed?"
That we admitted, too, and Jeff, still malicious, enlightened
them further.
"I've always thought it was a pathetic sight, both ways--to
Herland |
The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from The Rape of Lucrece by William Shakespeare: In his dim mist the aspiring mountains hiding,
From earth's dark womb some gentle gust doth get,
Which blows these pitchy vapours from their biding,
Hindering their present fall by this dividing;
So his unhallow'd haste her words delays,
And moody Pluto winks while Orpheus plays.
Yet, foul night-working cat, he doth but dally,
While in his hold-fast foot the weak mouse panteth;
Her sad behaviour feeds his vulture folly,
A swallowing gulf that even in plenty wanteth:
His ear her prayers admits, but his heart granteth
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The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from New Poems by Robert Louis Stevenson: A fulness of repose,
Breathes from the dewy garden-lawns,
The silent garden rows.
As the hoof-beats of a troop of horse
Heard far across a plain,
A nearer knowledge of great thoughts
Thrills vaguely through my brain.
I lean my head upon my arm,
My heart's too full to think;
Like the roar of seas, upon my heart
Doth the morning stillness sink.
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