| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from The Secret Agent by Joseph Conrad: the pay of foreign governments destroys in a measure the efficiency
of our supervision. A spy of that sort can afford to be more
reckless than the most reckless of conspirators. His occupation is
free from all restraint. He's without as much faith as is
necessary for complete negation, and without that much law as is
implied in lawlessness. Thirdly, the existence of these spies
amongst the revolutionary groups, which we are reproached for
harbouring here, does away with all certitude. You have received a
reassuring statement from Chief Inspector Heat some time ago. It
was by no means groundless - and yet this episode happens. I call
it an episode, because this affair, I make bold to say, is
The Secret Agent |
The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from Tales of the Klondyke by Jack London: "I'm very glad, my dear, that you're not." Dick Humphries threw
the bight of the sail twine over the point of the needle and drew
it clear with a couple of deft turns and a jerk.
A snort of the gale dealt the tent a broad-handed slap as it
hurtled past, and the sleet rat-tat-tatted with snappy spite
against the thin canvas. The smoke, smothered in its exit, drove
back through the fire-box door, carrying with it the pungent odor
of green spruce.
"Good Gawd! Why can't a woman listen to reason?" Tommy lifted
his head from the denser depths and turned upon her a pair of
smoke-outraged eyes.
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The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from Poems by Oscar Wilde: for thy head.
Still from his chair of porphyry gaunt Memnon
strains his lidless eyes
Across the empty land, and cries each yellow
morning unto thee.
And Nilus with his broken horn lies in his black
and oozy bed
And till thy coming will not spread his waters on
the withering corn.
Your lovers are not dead, I know. They will
rise up and hear your voice
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