| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from The Secrets of the Princesse de Cadignan by Honore de Balzac: which draws the flash. When d'Arthez returned to the general
conversation Maxime de Trailles was saying:--
"With Diane, depravity is not an effect but a cause; perhaps she owes
that cause to her exquisite nature; she doesn't invent, she makes no
effort, she offers you the choicest refinements as the inspiration of
a spontaneous and naive love; and it is absolutely impossible not to
believe her."
This speech, which seemed to have been prepared for a man of
d'Arthez's stamp, was so tremendous an arraignment that the company
appeared to accept it as a conclusion. No one said more; the princess
was crushed. D'Arthez looked straight at de Trailles and then at
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The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from Vendetta by Honore de Balzac: her if Ginevra was happy. Her hair was white, and a few strands only
were seen above her white and wrinkled forehead, or beside her hollow
cheeks.
"It is now fifteen days," she said, "since Ginevra made a practice of
being late."
"Jean is so slow!" cried the impatient old man, buttoning up his blue
coat and seizing his hat, which he dashed upon his head as he took his
cane and departed.
"You will not get far," said his wife, calling after him.
As she spoke, the porte-cochere was opened and shut, and the old
mother heard the steps of her Ginevra in the court-yard. Bartolomeo
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The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from Lysis by Plato: these are the sort of old wives' tales which he sings and recites to us,
and we are obliged to listen to him.
When I heard this, I said: O ridiculous Hippothales! how can you be making
and singing hymns in honour of yourself before you have won?
But my songs and verses, he said, are not in honour of myself, Socrates.
You think not? I said.
Nay, but what do you think? he replied.
Most assuredly, I said, those songs are all in your own honour; for if you
win your beautiful love, your discourses and songs will be a glory to you,
and may be truly regarded as hymns of praise composed in honour of you who
have conquered and won such a love; but if he slips away from you, the more
Lysis |
