| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from Eugenie Grandet by Honore de Balzac: may cast no bitter words upon my grave! My brother, if I were
writing with my blood, with my tears, no greater anguish could I
put into this letter,--nor as great, for then I should weep, I
should bleed, I should die, I should suffer no more, but now I
suffer and look at death with dry eyes.
From henceforth you are my son's father; he has no relations, as
you well know, on his mother's side. Why did I not consider social
prejudices? Why did I yield to love? Why did I marry the natural
daughter of a great lord? Charles has no family. Oh, my unhappy
son! my son! Listen, Grandet! I implore nothing for myself,--
besides, your property may not be large enough to carry a mortgage
Eugenie Grandet |
The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from Black Beauty by Anna Sewell: when there is no enemy, when it is just exercise and parade and sham fight.
Yes, it is very fine then; but when thousands of good brave men and horses
are killed or crippled for life, it has a very different look."
"Do you know what they fought about?" said I.
"No," he said, "that is more than a horse can understand,
but the enemy must have been awfully wicked people, if it was right
to go all that way over the sea on purpose to kill them."
35 Jerry Barker
I never knew a better man than my new master. He was kind and good,
and as strong for the right as John Manly; and so good-tempered and merry
that very few people could pick a quarrel with him.
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The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from The School For Scandal by Richard Brinsley Sheridan: CHARLES. Oh, yes, you would! the moment Sir Oliver dies, you know,
you would come on me for the money.
SIR OLIVER. Then I believe I should be the most unwelcome dun
you ever had in your life.
CHARLES. What! I suppose you're afraid that Sir Oliver is too good
a life?
SIR OLIVER. No, indeed I am not; though I have heard he is as hale
and healthy as any man of his years in Christendom.
CHARLES. There again, now, you are misinformed. No, no,
the climate has hurt him considerably, poor uncle Oliver.
Yes, yes, he breaks apace, I'm told--and is so much altered
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