| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from Bucolics by Virgil: Of love-lorn shepherds, and of Pan, who first
Brooked not the tuneful reed should idle lie.
"Begin, my flute, with me Maenalian lays.
Nysa to Mopsus given! what may not then
We lovers look for? soon shall we see mate
Griffins with mares, and in the coming age
Shy deer and hounds together come to drink.
"Begin, my flute, with me Maenalian lays.
Now, Mopsus, cut new torches, for they bring
Your bride along; now, bridegroom, scatter nuts:
Forsaking Oeta mounts the evening star!
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The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from The Devil's Dictionary by Ambrose Bierce: authority. It was originally a mace with which the sovereign
admonished his jester and vetoed ministerial measures by breaking the
bones of their proponents.
SCIMETAR, n. A curved sword of exceeding keenness, in the conduct of
which certain Orientals attain a surprising proficiency, as the
incident here related will serve to show. The account is translated
from the Japanese by Shusi Itama, a famous writer of the thirteenth
century.
When the great Gichi-Kuktai was Mikado he condemned to
decapitation Jijiji Ri, a high officer of the Court. Soon after
the hour appointed for performance of the rite what was his
The Devil's Dictionary |
The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from The Young Forester by Zane Grey: worryin' about you. I wonder how they feel about me an' Bud an' Bill? A
little prematoore roastin' for us, eh? Wal, wal!"
We went back to the camp. I lay down near the fire and fell asleep. Some
time in the night I awoke. The fire was still burning brightly. Bud and
Bill were lying with their backs to it almost close enough to scorch. Herky
sat in his shirtsleeves. The smoke of his pipe and the smoke of the
campfire wafted up together. Then I saw and felt that he had covered me
with his coat and vest.
I slept far into the next day. Herky was in camp alone. The others had
gone, Herky said, and he would not tell me where. He did not appear as
cheerful as usual. I suspected he had quarreled with his companions, very
The Young Forester |
