| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from Four Arthurian Romances by Chretien DeTroyes: ("matiere de Rome la grant"). Chretien tells us in "Cliges" that
his first essays as a poet were the translations into French of
certain parts of Ovid's most popular works: the "Metamorphoses",
the "Ars Amatoria", and perhaps the "Remedia Amoris". But he
appears early to have chosen as his special field the stories of
Celtic origin dealing with Arthur, the Round Table, and other
features of Celtic folk-lore. Not only was he alive to the
literary interest of this material when rationalised to suit the
taste of French readers; his is further the credit of having
given to somewhat crude folk-lore that polish and elegance which
is peculiarly French, and which is inseparably associated with
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The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from The Koran: therewith it is for himself; but he who is blind thereto, it is
against his soul and I am not your keeper.
Thus do we turn about the signs, that they may say, 'Thou hast
studied,' and that we may explain to those who know.
Follow what is revealed to thee from thy Lord; there is no god but
He, and shun the idolaters.
But had God pleased, they would not have associated aught with
Him; but we have not made thee a keeper over them, nor art thou for
them a warder.
Do not abuse those who call on other than God, for then they may
abuse God openly in their ignorance. So do we make seemly to every
The Koran |
The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from Resurrection by Leo Tolstoy: stout neck. Having finished this part of the business, he went
into a third room, where a shower bath stood ready for him.
Having refreshed his full, white, muscular body, and dried it
with a rough bath sheet, he put on his fine undergarments and his
boots, and sat down before the glass to brush his black beard and
his curly hair, that had begun to get thin above the forehead.
Everything he used, everything belonging to his toilet, his
linen, his clothes, boots, necktie, pin, studs, was of the best
quality, very quiet, simple, durable and costly.
Nekhludoff dressed leisurely, and went into the dining-room. A
table, which looked very imposing with its four legs carved in
Resurrection |
