| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from The Red Inn by Honore de Balzac: it, no doubt from time immemorial by the caprice of its founder. A
mercantile superstition, natural enough to the different possessors of
the building, far-famed among the sailors of the Rhine, had made them
scrupulous to preserve the title.
Hearing the sound of horses' hoofs, the master of the Red Inn came out
upon the threshold of his door.
"By heavens! gentlemen," he cried, "a little later and you'd have had
to sleep beneath the stars, like a good many more of your compatriots
who are bivouacking on the other side of Andernach. Here every room is
occupied. If you want to sleep in a good bed I have only my own room
to offer you. As for your horses I can litter them down in a corner of
|
The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from The Children of the Night by Edwin Arlington Robinson: With unoppressed and unoffended eyes,
That record of All-Soul whereon God writes
In everlasting runes the truth of Him.
IX
The guerdon of new childhood is repose: --
Once he has read the primer of right thought,
A man may claim between two smithy strokes
Beatitude enough to realize
God's parallel completeness in the vague
And incommensurable excellence
That equitably uncreates itself
|
The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from Lord Arthur Savile's Crime, etc. by Oscar Wilde: holidays with us in Scotland. They never really got on together at
all. Cyril thought him a bear, and he thought Cyril effeminate.
He was effeminate, I suppose, in some things, though he was a very
good rider and a capital fencer. In fact he got the foils before
he left Eton. But he was very languid in his manner, and not a
little vain of his good looks, and had a strong objection to
football. The two things that really gave him pleasure were poetry
and acting. At Eton he was always dressing up and reciting
Shakespeare, and when we went up to Trinity he became a member of
the A.D.C. his first term. I remember I was always very jealous of
his acting. I was absurdly devoted to him; I suppose because we
|
