| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from Egmont by Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe: field of battle and of victory! How bravely did I tread, with my gallant
comrades, the dangerous path of fame! And now, from this dungeon I
shall go forth, to meet a glorious death; I die for freedom, for whose cause
I have lived and fought, and for whom I now offer myself up at sorrowing
sacrifice.
(The background is occupied by Spanish soldiers with halberts.)
Yes, lead them on! Close your ranks, ye terrify me not. I am accustomed
to stand amid the serried ranks of war, and environed by the threatening
forms of death, to feel, with double zest, the energy of life. (Drums.)
The foe closes round on every side! Swords are flashing; courage, friends!
Behind are your parents, your wives, your children! (Pointing to the
Egmont |
The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from The Talisman by Walter Scott: imagination. While these thoughts passed through the mind of
Kenneth, the same passage, by which the procession had entered
the chapel, received them on their return. The young sacristans,
the sable nuns, vanished successively through the open door. At
length she from whom he had received this double intimation
passed also; yet, in passing, turned her head, slightly indeed,
but perceptibly, towards the place where he remained fixed as an
image. He marked the last wave of her veil--it was gone--and a
darkness sunk upon his soul, scarce less palpable than that which
almost immediately enveloped his external sense; for the last
chorister had no sooner crossed the threshold of the door than it
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The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from The Poems of Goethe, Bowring, Tr. by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe: And these eyes are train'd to turn the corner with prudence.
For we were wont to drive the carriage, when living at Strasburg,
At the time when with the young baron I went there, for daily,
Driven by me, through the echoing gateway thunder'd the carriage
By the dusty roads to distant meadows and lindens,
Through the crowds of the people who spend their lifetime in walking."
Partially comforted, then his neighbour mounted the carriage,
Sitting like one prepared to make a wise jump, if needs be,
And the stallions, eager to reach their stables, coursed homewards,
While beneath their powerful hoofs the dust rose in thick clouds.
Long there stood the youth, and saw the dust rise before him,
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