| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from The Ruling Passion by Henry van Dyke: to show himself friendly and good-natured. In reality, of course,
he knew well enough how matters stood. But he was resolved not to
show that he knew, if he could help it; and in any event, not to be
one of the two that are needed to make a quarrel.
He felt very strangely about it. There was a presentiment in his
heart that he did not dare to shake off. It seemed as if this
conflict were one that would threaten the happiness of his whole
life. He still kept his old feeling of attraction to Raoul, the
memory of the many happy days they had spent together; and though
the friendship, of course, could never again be what it had been,
there was something of it left, at least on Prosper's side. To
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The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from Riders of the Purple Sage by Zane Grey: persuaded himself that he would be able to see riders mounted on
horses before they could see him on the little burro, and he rode
bareback.
Hour by hour the tireless burro kept to his faithful, steady
trot. The sun sank and the long shadows lengthened down the
slope. Moving veils of purple twilight crept out of the hollows
and, mustering and forming on the levels, soon merged and shaded
into night. Venters guided the burro nearer to the trail, so that
he could see its white line from the ridges, and rode on through
the hours.
Once down in the Pass without leaving a trail, he would hold
Riders of the Purple Sage |
The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from Egmont by Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe: poor nakedness of life? Take life too seriously, and what is it worth? If the
morning wake us to no new joys, if in the evening we have no pleasures to
hope for, is it worth the trouble of dressing and undressing? Does the sun
shine on me to-day, that I may reflect on what happened yesterday? That I
may endeavour to foresee and control, what can neither be foreseen nor
controlled,--the destiny of the morrow? Spare me these reflections, we will
leave them to scholars and courtiers. Let them ponder and contrive, creep
hither and thither, and surreptitiously achieve their ends.--If you can make
use of these suggestions, without swelling your letter into a volume, it is
well. Everything appears of exaggerated importance to the good old man.
'Tis thus the friend, who has long held our hand, grasps it more warmly
Egmont |
