| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from Westward Ho! by Charles Kingsley: "Fire, men! Give it the black villains!"
The arquebuses crackled from the boat in front. What were those
dull thuds which answered from behind? Echoes? No. Over his head
the caliver-balls went screeching. The governors' guard have
turned out, followed them to the beach, fixed their calivers, and
are firing over the negroes' heads, as the savages rush down upon
the hapless brothers.
If, as all say, there are moments which are hours, how many hours
was Amyas Leigh in reaching that boat's bow? Alas! the negroes are
there as soon as he, and the guard, having left their calivers, are
close behind them, sword in hand. Amyas is up to his knees in
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The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from Pagan and Christian Creeds by Edward Carpenter: cups five pieces of camphor were placed, all approximately
equal in size. After offerings had been made, of fruit,
flowers and sandalwood, the five camphors in each candlestick
were lighted. As the camphor flames burned out the music
became more wild and exciting, and then at the moment of
their extinction the curtains were drawn aside and the
congregation outside suddenly beheld the god revealed
and in a blaze of light. This burning of camphor was,
like other things in the service, emblematic. The five
lights represent the five senses. Just as camphor consumes
itself and leaves no residue behind, so should the five senses,
Pagan and Christian Creeds |
The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from Chance by Joseph Conrad: incalculable chances.
Of course, all the chances were that de Barral should have fallen
upon a perfectly harmless, naive, usual, inefficient specimen of
respectable governess for his daughter; or on a commonplace silly
adventuress who would have tried, say, to marry him or work some
other sort of common mischief in a small way. Or again he might
have chanced on a model of all the virtues, or the repository of all
knowledge, or anything equally harmless, conventional, and middle
class. All calculations were in his favour; but, chance being
incalculable, he fell upon an individuality whom it is much easier
to define by opprobrious names than to classify in a calm and
Chance |
