| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from Polity of Athenians and Lacedaemonians by Xenophon: Hippagretai, or masters of the horse. Each of these selects one
hundred others, being bound to explain for what reason he prefers in
honour these and disapproves of those. The result is that those who
fail to obtain the distinction are now at open war, not only with
those who rejected them, but with those who were chosen in their
stead; and they keep ever a jealous eye on one another to detect some
slip of conduct contrary to the high code of honour there held
customary. And so is set on foot that strife, in truest sense
acceptable to heaven, and for the purposes of state most politic. It
is a strife in which not only is the pattern of a brave man's conduct
fully set forth, but where, too, each against other and in separate
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The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from Sesame and Lilies by John Ruskin: dynasty is founded on its duty, and its ambition correlative with
its beneficence. Your fancy is pleased with the thought of being
noble ladies, with a train of vassals. Be it so; you cannot be too
noble, and your train cannot be too great; but see to it that your
train is of vassals whom you serve and feed, not merely of slaves
who serve and feed you; and that the multitude which obeys you is of
those whom you have comforted, not oppressed,--whom you have
redeemed, not led into captivity.
And this, which is true of the lower or household dominion, is
equally true of the queenly dominion; that highest dignity is open
to you, if you will also accept that highest duty. Rex et Regina--
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The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from La Grenadiere by Honore de Balzac: a habit learned in their babyhood. For seven years the sincere
petition had been put up every morning on their mother's bed, and
begun and ended by a kiss. Then the two brothers went through their
morning toilet as scrupulously as any pretty woman; doubtless they had
been trained in habits of minute attention to the person, so necessary
to health of body and mind, habits in some sort conducive to a sense
of wellbeing. Conscientiously they went through their duties, so
afraid were they lest their mother should say when she kissed them at
breakfast-time, "My darling children, where can you have been to have
such black finger-nails already?" Then the two went out into the
garden and shook off the dreams of the night in the morning air and
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