| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from Paradise Lost by John Milton: To that false worm, of whomsoever taught
To counterfeit Man's voice; true in our fall,
False in our promised rising; since our eyes
Opened we find indeed, and find we know
Both good and evil; good lost, and evil got;
Bad fruit of knowledge, if this be to know;
Which leaves us naked thus, of honour void,
Of innocence, of faith, of purity,
Our wonted ornaments now soiled and stained,
And in our faces evident the signs
Of foul concupiscence; whence evil store;
Paradise Lost |
The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from Kwaidan by Lafcadio Hearn: that the beauty of Aoyagi might attract dangerous attention, and that means
might be devised of taking her away from him. In Kyoto he therefore tried
to keep her hidden from curious eyes. But a retainer of Lord Hosokawa one
day caught sight of Aoyagi, discovered her relation to Tomotada, and
reported the matter to the daimyo. Thereupon the daimyo -- a young prince,
and fond of pretty faces -- gave orders that the girl should be brought to
the place; and she was taken thither at once, without ceremony.
Tomotada sorrowed unspeakably; but he knew himself powerless. He was only
an humble messenger in the service of a far-off daimyo; and for the time
being he was at the mercy of a much more powerful daimyo, whose wishes were
not to be questioned. Moreover Tomotada knew that he had acted foolishly,--
Kwaidan |
The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from The Arrow of Gold by Joseph Conrad: chilled the blood without dimming the memory. I remember going
about the business with light-hearted, clear-headed recklessness
which, according as its decisions were sudden or considered, made
Dominic draw his breath through his clenched teeth, or look hard at
me before he gave me either a slight nod of assent or a sarcastic
"Oh, certainly" - just as the humour of the moment prompted him.
One night as we were lying on a bit of dry sand under the lee of a
rock, side by side, watching the light of our little vessel dancing
away at sea in the windy distance, Dominic spoke suddenly to me.
"I suppose Alphonso and Carlos, Carlos and Alphonso, they are
nothing to you, together or separately?"
The Arrow of Gold |
