| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from Tristram Shandy by Laurence Sterne: do I hit upon any invention or device which tendeth to the furtherance of
good writing, but I instantly make it public; willing that all mankind
should write as well as myself.
--Which they certainly will, when they think as little.
Chapter 4.LXXII.
Now in ordinary cases, that is, when I am only stupid, and the thoughts
rise heavily and pass gummous through my pen--
Or that I am got, I know not how, into a cold unmetaphorical vein of
infamous writing, and cannot take a plumb-lift out of it for my soul; so
must be obliged to go on writing like a Dutch commentator to the end of the
chapter, unless something be done--
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The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from The Lesser Bourgeoisie by Honore de Balzac: "But, father," interrupted Felix, "Monsieur Minard has been
misinformed."
"Misinformed!" cried Minard, "when I know the whole affair from
Monsieur Picot himself!"
At this argument, stated in a way to leave no possible doubt, the
truth began to dawn upon Phellion.
"Felix, my son!" he said, rising to embrace him.
But he was obliged to sit down again; his legs refused to bear his
weight; he turned pale; and that nature, ordinarily so impassible,
seemed about to give way under the shock of this happiness.
"My God!" said Felix, terrified, "he is ill; ring the bell, I entreat
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The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen: properly, then would everybody exclaim, "Beautiful, unparalleled Italy!" But
neither the young Divine said so, nor anyone of his grumbling companions in
the coach of the vetturino.
The poisonous flies and gnats swarmed around by thousands; in vain one waved
myrtle-branches about like mad; the audacious insect population did not cease
to sting; nor was there a single person in the well-crammed carriage whose
face was not swollen and sore from their ravenous bites. The poor horses,
tortured almost to death, suffered most from this truly Egyptian plague; the
flies alighted upon them in large disgusting swarms; and if the coachman got
down and scraped them off, hardly a minute elapsed before they were there
again. The sun now set: a freezing cold, though of short duration pervaded the
Fairy Tales |
