| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from The Boys' Life of Abraham Lincoln by Helen Nicolay: and accepting defeat and victory with equal good-nature. By the
time he had finished a little circle would be gathered around
him, enjoying his enjoyment, and laughing at his quaint
expressions and sallies of wit.
His gift for jest and story-telling has become traditional.
Indeed, almost every good story that has been invented within a
hundred years has been laid at his door. As a matter of fact,
though he was fond of telling "them, and told them well, he told
comparatively few of the number that have been credited to him.
He had a wonderful memory, and a fine power of making his hearers
see the scene he wished to depict; but the final charm of his
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The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from The Divine Comedy (translated by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow) by Dante Alighieri: Then to the beauteous eyes mine eyes I turned.
Paradiso: Canto XXIII
Even as a bird, 'mid the beloved leaves,
Quiet upon the nest of her sweet brood
Throughout the night, that hideth all things from us,
Who, that she may behold their longed-for looks
And find the food wherewith to nourish them,
In which, to her, grave labours grateful are,
Anticipates the time on open spray
And with an ardent longing waits the sun,
Gazing intent as soon as breaks the dawn:
The Divine Comedy (translated by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow) |
The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from The Wife, et al by Anton Chekhov: with contempt and condescension on the life going on around him,
which did not prevent him, however, from taking presents, such as
suits of clothes, from my mother, and drawing funny faces with
red teeth on my kites. Mother disliked him for his "pride," but
stood in awe of his cleverness.
Our visitor did not keep us long waiting. At the beginning of May
two wagon-loads of big boxes arrived from the station. These
boxes looked so majestic that the drivers instinctively took off
their hats as they lifted them down.
"There must be uniforms and gunpowder in those boxes," I thought.
Why "gunpowder"? Probably the conception of a general was closely
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