| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from The Shadow Line by Joseph Conrad: self doing it; but I hadn't. By an effort which
absorbed all my faculties I managed to keep my
jaw still. It required much attention, and while
thus engaged I became bothered by curious, ir-
regular sounds of faint tapping on the deck. They
could be heard single, in pairs, in groups. While
I wondered at this mysterious devilry, I received
a slight blow under the left eye and felt an enor-
mous tear run down my cheek. Raindrops.
Enormous. Forerunners of something.
Tap. Tap. Tap. . . .
The Shadow Line |
The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from The Travels of Sir John Mandeville by Sir John Mandeville: convenable array for to eschew folly. When men pain them to array
the body for to make it seem fairer than God made it, they do great
sin. For man should not devise ne ask greater beauty, than God
hath ordained man to be at his birth. The earth ministereth to us
two things, - our livelihood, that cometh of the earth that we live
by, and our sepulture after our death. We have been in perpetual
peace till now, that thou come to disinherit us. And also we have
a king, not only for to do justice to every man, for he shall find
no forfeit among us; but for to keep noblesse, and for to shew that
we be obeissant, we have a king. For justice ne hath not among us
no place, for we do to no man otherwise than we desire that men do
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The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from Two Poets by Honore de Balzac: "Lucien, are you in love with Mme. de Bargeton?"
"Passionately."
"But social prejudices set you as far apart as if she were living at
Pekin and you in Greenland."
"The will of two lovers can rise victorious over all things," said
Lucien, lowering his eyes.
"You will forget us," returned the alarmed lover, as Eve's fair face
rose before his mind.
"On the contrary, I have perhaps sacrificed my love to you," cried
Lucien.
"What do you mean?"
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