| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from The Cavalry General by Xenophon: not let the opportunity escape, but make it a rule always to pursue a
weaker with a stronger force.[21] These, indeed, are rules of
procedure, which it only requires a simple effort of the mind to
appreciate. Creatures far duller of wit than man have this ability:
kites and falcons, when anything is left unguarded, pounce and carry
it off and retire into safety without being caught; or wolves, again,
will hunt down any quarry left widowed of its guard, or thieve what
they can in darksome corners.[22] In case a dog pursues and overtakes
them, should he chance to be weaker the wolf attacks him, or if
stronger, the wolf will slaughter[23] his quarry and make off. At
other times, if the pack be strong enough to make light of the
|
The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from My Antonia by Willa Cather: distributing freshly ironed clothes, and collecting bags of linen that cried
out for his suds and sunny drying-lines. His girls never looked so pretty
at the dances as they did standing by the ironing-board, or over the tubs,
washing the fine pieces, their white arms and throats bare, their cheeks
bright as the brightest wild roses, their gold hair moist with the steam
or the heat and curling in little damp spirals about their ears.
They had not learned much English, and were not so ambitious as Tony
or Lena; but they were kind, simple girls and they were always happy.
When one danced with them, one smelled their clean, freshly ironed clothes
that had been put away with rosemary leaves from Mr. Jensen's garden.
There were never girls enough to go round at those dances,
My Antonia |
The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from Alexander's Bridge by Willa Cather: She doesn't take up with anybody, you know.
Irene Burgoyne, one of her family, told me in
confidence that there was a romance somewhere
back in the beginning. One of your countrymen,
Alexander, by the way; an American student
whom she met in Paris, I believe. I dare say
it's quite true that there's never been any one else."
Mainhall vouched for her constancy with a loftiness
that made Alexander smile, even while a kind of
rapid excitement was tingling through him.
Blinking up at the lights, Mainhall added
Alexander's Bridge |
