| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from Domestic Peace by Honore de Balzac: supper was about to begin, Martial led the Countess to an oval boudoir
looking on to the garden, where the rarest flowers and a few shrubs
made a scented bower under bright blue hangings. The murmurs of the
festivity here died away. The Countess, at first startled, refused
firmly to follow the young man; but, glancing in a mirror, she no
doubt assured herself that they could be seen, for she seated herself
on an ottoman with a fairly good grace.
"This room is charming," said she, admiring the sky-blue hangings
looped with pearls.
"All here is love and delight!" said the Baron, with deep emotion.
In the mysterious light which prevailed he looked at the Countess, and
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The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from Hiero by Xenophon: other mortal men. And indeed no pleasure known to man would seem to be
nearer that of gods than the delight[11] which centres in proud
attributes.
[7] Or, "in this strong aspiration after honour." Holden aptly cf.
"Spectator," No. 467: "The love of praise is a passion deeply
fixed in the mind of every extraordinary person; and those who are
most affected with it seem most to partake of that particle of the
divinity which distinguishes mankind from the inferior creation."
[8] {alogous}, i.e. "without speach and reason"; cf. modern Greek {o
alogos} = the horse (sc. the animal par excellence). See
"Horsemanship," viii. 14.
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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: Zephirine's disapproving glance down on him.
"Do just tell us how it really was," they besought Stanislas, and
formed a small, secret committee in a corner of the salon.
Stanislas, in the long length, had put together a little story full of
facetious suggestions, and accompanied it with pantomime, which made
the thing prodigiously worse.
"It is incredible!"
"At midday?"
"Nais was the last person whom I should have suspected!"
"What will she do now?"
Then followed more comments, and suppositions without end. Chatelet
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