| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from Pierre Grassou by Honore de Balzac: commonplace minds and by troops of vanities athirst for vengeance.
As soon as he thought himself able to fly on his own wings, Fougeres
took a studio in the upper part of the rue des Martyrs, where he began
to delve his way. He made his first appearance in 1819. The first
picture he presented to the jury of the Exhibition at the Louvre
represented a village wedding rather laboriously copied from Greuze's
picture. It was rejected. When Fougeres heard of the fatal decision,
he did not fall into one of those fits of epileptic self-love to which
strong natures give themselves up, and which sometimes end in
challenges sent to the director or the secretary of the Museum, or
even by threats of assassination. Fougeres quietly fetched his canvas,
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The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from Finished by H. Rider Haggard: sometimes. I will say no more, except that you, who are also a
man who perhaps have felt weaknesses of one sort or another,
will, I hope, make allowances for me and pay no attention to
anything that I may have said or done in the presence of guests;
yes, that is what pains me--in the presence of guests."
Something in his distinguished manner caused me to reflect upon
every peccadillo that I had ever committed, setting it in its
very worst light.
"Quite so," I answered, "quite so. Pray do not mention the
matter any more, although--" These words seemed to jerk
themselves out of my throat, "you did call each other by such
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The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from Louis Lambert by Honore de Balzac: gifts of mind were surer guarantees of happiness than those offered by
money. Her features were of the purest type of Jewish beauty; the oval
lines, so noble and maidenly, have an indescribable stamp of the
ideal, and seem to speak of the joys of the East, its unchangeably
blue sky, the glories of its lands, and the fabulous riches of life
there. She had fine eyes, shaded by deep eyelids, fringed with thick,
curled lashes. Biblical innocence sat on her brow. Her complexion was
of the pure whiteness of the Levite's robe. She was habitually silent
and thoughtful, but her movements and gestures betrayed a quiet grace,
as her speech bore witness to a woman's sweet and loving nature. She
had not, indeed, the rosy freshness, the fruit-like bloom which blush
Louis Lambert |
