| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from The Divine Comedy (translated by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow) by Dante Alighieri: Which evermore is given them for a grief.
I speak of Aristotle and of Plato,
And many others;"--and here bowed his head,
And more he said not, and remained disturbed.
We came meanwhile unto the mountain's foot;
There so precipitate we found the rock,
That nimble legs would there have been in vain.
'Twixt Lerici and Turbia, the most desert,
The most secluded pathway is a stair
Easy and open, if compared with that.
"Who knoweth now upon which hand the hill
The Divine Comedy (translated by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow) |
The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from The Figure in the Carpet by Henry James: Way," and to bring news that was singularly relevant. The evening
papers were just out with a telegram on the author of that work,
who, in Rome, had been ill for some days with an attack of malarial
fever. It had at first not been thought grave, but had taken, in
consequence of complications, a turn that might give rise to
anxiety. Anxiety had indeed at the latest hour begun to be felt.
I was struck in the presence of these tidings with the fundamental
detachment that Mrs. Corvick's overt concern quite failed to hide:
it gave me the measure of her consummate independence. That
independence rested on her knowledge, the knowledge which nothing
now could destroy and which nothing could make different. The
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The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from Commentary on the Epistle to the Galatians by Martin Luther: VERSE 12. Be as I am; for I am as ye are.
In beseeching the Galatians to be as he is, Paul expresses the hope that they
might hold the same affection for him that he holds for them. "Perhaps I
have been a little hard with you. Forgive it. Do not judge my heart
according to my words."
We request the same consideration for ourselves. Our way of writing is
incisive and straightforward. But there is no bitterness in our heart. We
seek the honor of Christ and the welfare of men. We do not hate the Pope
as to wish him ill. We do not desire the death of our false brethren. We
desire that they may turn from their evil ways to Christ and be saved with
us. A teacher chastises the pupil to reform him. The rod hurts, but
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