| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from Albert Savarus by Honore de Balzac: firm determination.
"Go this evening," she said. "We meet no more till we meet at Naples."
This order was stern, but it was obeyed, for it was Francesca's will.
On his return to Paris Rodolphe found in his rooms a portrait of
Princess Gandolphini painted by Schinner, as Schinner can paint. The
artist had passed through Geneva on his way to Italy. As he had
positively refused to paint the portraits of several women, Rodolphe
did not believe that the Prince, anxious as he was for a portrait of
his wife, would be able to conquer the great painter's objections; but
Francesca, no doubt, had bewitched him, and obtained from him--which
was almost a miracle--an original portrait for Rodolphe, and a
Albert Savarus |
The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from Barlaam and Ioasaph by St. John of Damascus: ground, and good, I shall not be slow to plant therein the
heavenly seed, and manifest to thee the mighty mystery. But and
if the ground be stony and thorny, and the wayside trodden down
by all who will, it were better never to let fall this seed of
salvation, nor to cast it for a prey to fowls and beasts, before
which I have been charged not to cast pearls. But I am
'persuaded better things of thee, and things that accompany
salvation,' -- how that thou shalt see the priceless stone, and
it shall be given thee in the light of that stone to become
light, and bring forth fruit an hundredfold. Aye, for thy sake I
gave diligence and accomplished a long journey, to shew thee
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The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from Travels with a Donkey in the Cevenne by Robert Louis Stevenson: my lady friend. Add to this, that I and Modestine were both
handsomely wetted by the showers. But now, if I could have found
some water, I should have camped at once in spite of all. Water,
however, being entirely absent, except in the form of rain, I
determined to return to Fouzilhic, and ask a guide a little farther
on my way - 'a little farther lend thy guiding hand.'
The thing was easy to decide, hard to accomplish. In this sensible
roaring blackness I was sure of nothing but the direction of the
wind. To this I set my face; the road had disappeared, and I went
across country, now in marshy opens, now baffled by walls
unscalable to Modestine, until I came once more in sight of some
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