| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from Dark Lady of the Sonnets by George Bernard Shaw: me not a short hour of its music.
THE LADY. Sir: you are overbold. Season your admiration for a while
with--
THE MAN. _[holding up his hand to stop her]_ "Season your admiration
for a while--"
THE LADY. Fellow: do you dare mimic me to my face?
THE MAN. Tis music. Can you not hear? When a good musician sings a
song, do you not sing it and sing it again till you have caught and
fixed its perfect melody? Season your admiration for a while": God!
the history of man's heart is in that one word admiration.
Admiration! _[Taking up his tablets]_ What was it? "Suspend your
|
The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from The Vicar of Tours by Honore de Balzac: make him your ally; but if you bow too low he will walk over you
rough-shod; make believe that you intend to leave the service, and
you'll escape him, Monsieur le baron. Send away Birotteau, madame, and
you will set things right with Mademoiselle Gamard. Ask the Abbe
Troubert, when you meet him at the archbishop's, if he can play whist.
He will say yes. Then invite him to your salon, where he wants to be
received; he'll be sure to come. You are a woman, and you can
certainly win a priest to your interests. When the baron is promoted,
his uncle peer of France, and Troubert a bishop, you can make
Birotteau a canon if you choose. Meantime yield,--but yield
gracefully, all the while with a slight menace. Your family can give
|
The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from Gobseck by Honore de Balzac: avoid the dangerous honor of his acquaintance, for I came across him
sometimes in society. Still, my chum was so pressing about this
breakfast-party of his that I could not well get out of it, unless I
wished to earn a name for squeamishness. Madame, you could hardly
imagine what a bachelor's breakfast-party is like. It means superb
display and a studied refinement seldom seen; the luxury of a miser
when vanity leads him to be sumptuous for a day.
"You are surprised as you enter the room at the neatness of the table,
dazzling by reason of its silver and crystal and linen damask. Life is
here in full bloom; the young fellows are graceful to behold; they
smile and talk in low, demure voices like so many brides; everything
Gobseck |
