| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from Just Folks by Edgar A. Guest: Yes, brag about those days of old, boast of them as you will,
I sing the modern methods that have robbed them of their chill;
I sing the cheery steam pipe and the upstairs snug and warm
And a spine that's free from shivers as I robe my manly form.
The Man to Be
Some day the world will need a man of courage in a time of doubt,
And somewhere, as a little boy, that future hero plays about.
Within some humble home, no doubt, that instrument of greater things
Now climbs upon his father's knee or to his mother's garments clings.
And when shall come that call for him to render service that is fine,
He that shall do God's mission here may be your little boy or mine.
Just Folks |
The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from First Inaugural Address by Abraham Lincoln: and negations, guaranties and prohibitions, in the Constitution, that
controversies never arise concerning them. But no organic law can ever be
framed with a provision specifically applicable to every question which may
occur in practical administration. No foresight can anticipate,
nor any document of reasonable length contain, express provisions
for all possible questions. Shall fugitives from labor be surrendered
by national or State authority? The Constitution does not expressly say.
May Congress prohibit slavery in the Territories? The Constitution does not
expressly say. MUST Congress protect slavery in the Territories?
The Constitution does not expressly say.
From questions of this class spring all our constitutional controversies,
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The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from Lay Morals by Robert Louis Stevenson: services and allow himself a salary in proportion, for that
will be one among his functions. And while he will then be
free to spend that salary, great or little, on his own
private pleasures, the rest of his fortune he but holds and
disposes under trust for mankind; it is not his, because he
has not earned it; it cannot be his, because his services
have already been paid; but year by year it is his to
distribute, whether to help individuals whose birthright and
outfit have been swallowed up in his, or to further public
works and institutions.
At this rate, short of inspiration, it seems hardly possible
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