| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from Love and Friendship by Jane Austen: Pity and surprise were strongly depictured in your Mother's
countenance, during the whole of my narration, but I am sorry to
say, that to the eternal reproach of her sensibility, the latter
infinitely predominated. Nay, faultless as my conduct had
certainly been during the whole course of my late misfortunes and
adventures, she pretended to find fault with my behaviour in many
of the situations in which I had been placed. As I was sensible
myself, that I had always behaved in a manner which reflected
Honour on my Feelings and Refinement, I paid little attention to
what she said, and desired her to satisfy my Curiosity by
informing me how she came there, instead of wounding my spotless
Love and Friendship |
The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from La Grande Breteche by Honore de Balzac: me false--for I never did any one a wrong, and yet I am tormented by
my conscience. Up to now I have never dared to say a word to the
people of these parts; they are all chatter-mags, with tongues like
knives. And never till now, sir, have I had any traveler here who
stayed so long in the inn as you have, and to whom I could tell the
history of the fifteen thousand francs----'
" 'My dear Madame Lepas, if there is anything in your story of a
nature to compromise me,' I said, interrupting the flow of her words,
'I would not hear it for all the world.'
" 'You need have no fears,' said she; 'you will see.'
"Her eagerness made me suspect that I was not the only person to whom
La Grande Breteche |
The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from Rasselas, Prince of Abyssinia by Samuel Johnson: "The old Egyptians have left behind them monuments of industry and
power before which all European magnificence is confessed to fade
away. The ruins of their architecture are the schools of modern
builders; and from the wonders which time has spared we may
conjecture, though uncertainly, what it has destroyed."
"My curiosity," said Rasselas, "does not very strongly lead me to
survey piles of stone or mounds of earth. My business is with man.
I came hither not to measure fragments of temples or trace choked
aqueducts, but to look upon the various scenes of the present
world."
"The things that are now before us," said the Princess, "require
|
