| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from Seraphita by Honore de Balzac: heart; I desire to keep thy soul in mine; thy will is mine; I will do
whatsoever thou biddest me. Since I cannot obtain thee, I will keep
thy will and all the thoughts that thou hast given me. If I may not
unite myself with thee except by the power of my spirit, I will cling
to thee in soul as the flame to what it laps. Speak!"
"Angel!" exclaimed the mysterious being, enfolding them both in one
glance, as it were with an azure mantle, "Heaven shall by thine
heritage!"
Silence fell among them after these words, which sounded in the souls
of the man and of the woman like the first notes of some celestial
harmony.
Seraphita |
The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from Democracy In America, Volume 1 by Alexis de Toqueville: constantly accessible to vessels of the greatest burden. But from
the Potomac to the mouth of the Mississippi the coast is sandy
and flat. In this part of the Union the mouths of almost all the
rivers are obstructed; and the few harbors which exist amongst
these lagoons afford much shallower water to vessels, and much
fewer commercial advantages than those of the North.
This first natural cause of inferiority is united to another
cause proceeding from the laws. We have already seen that
slavery, which is abolished in the North, still exists in the
South; and I have pointed out its fatal consequences upon the
prosperity of the planter himself.
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The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from Z. Marcas by Honore de Balzac: under the guidance of a man of talent, to gain some light on their own
future prospects.
"Why," asked Juste, "did you not wait patiently for an opportunity,
and imitate the only man who has been able to keep the lead since the
Revolution of July by holding his head above water?"
"Have I not said that we never know where the roots of chance lie?
Carrell was in identically the same position as the orator you speak
of. That gloomy young man, of a bitter spirit, had a whole government
in his head; the man of whom you speak had no idea beyond mounting on
the crupper of every event. Of the two, Carrel was the better man.
Well, one becomes a minister, Carrel remained a journalist; the
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