| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from The Rig Veda: 22 God, working with mankind, flow on; to Indra go thy gladdening
juice:
To Vayu mount as Law commands
23 O Soma, Pavamana, thou pourest out wealth that brings renown:
Enter the lake, as one we love.
24 Soma thou flowest chasing foes and bringing wisdom and delight:
Drive off the folk who love not Gods.
25 The Pavamanas have been poured, the brilliant drops of Soma
juice,
For holy lore of every kind.
26 The Pavamanas have been shed, the beautiful swift Soma-drops,
The Rig Veda |
The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from Island Nights' Entertainments by Robert Louis Stevenson: "And what became of the priest?" I asked.
"The priest?" says Case. "O! he was hammering on the door outside,
and crying on the natives to come and beat it in, and singing out
it was a soul he wished to save, and that. He was in a rare
taking, was the priest. But what would you have? Johnny had
slipped his cable; no more Johnny in the market; and the
administration racket clean played out. Next thing, word came to
Randall the priest was praying upon Johnny's grave. Papa was
pretty full, and got a club, and lit out straight for the place,
and there was Galoshes on his knees, and a lot of natives looking
on. You wouldn't think Papa cared - that much about anything,
|
The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from The Arrow of Gold by Joseph Conrad: the second of Mr. J. K. Blunt's declarations.
"Yes," he said. "Je suis Americain, catholique et gentil-homme,"
in a tone contrasting so strongly with the smile, which, as it
were, underlined the uttered words, that I was at a loss whether to
return the smile in kind or acknowledge the words with a grave
little bow. Of course I did neither and there fell on us an odd,
equivocal silence. It marked our final abandonment of the French
language. I was the one to speak first, proposing that my
companions should sup with me, not across the way, which would be
riotous with more than one "infernal" supper, but in another much
more select establishment in a side street away from the
The Arrow of Gold |
