| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from An Old Maid by Honore de Balzac: Mademoiselle Cormon's ambition took its rise in the most delicate and
sensitive feminine feeling; she longed to reward a lover by revealing
to him a thousand virtues after marriage, as other women then betray
the imperfections they have hitherto concealed. But she was ill
understood. The noble woman met with none but common souls in whom the
reckoning of actual interests was paramount, and who knew nothing of
the nobler calculations of sentiment.
The farther she advanced towards that fatal epoch so adroitly called
the "second youth," the more her distrust increased. She affected to
present herself in the most unfavorable light, and played her part so
well that the last wooers hesitated to link their fate to that of a
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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: the proudest and foolishest,--that you have been so much the darling
of the Heavens, and favourite of the Fates, as to be born in the
very nick of time, and in the punctual place, when and where pure
Divine truth had been sifted from the errors of the Nations; and
that your papa had been providentially disposed to buy a house in
the convenient neighbourhood of the steeple under which that
Immaculate and final verity would be beautifully proclaimed. Do not
think it, child; it is not so. This, on the contrary, is the fact,-
-unpleasant you may think it; pleasant, it seems to ME,--that you,
with all your pretty dresses, and dainty looks, and kindly thoughts,
and saintly aspirations, are not one whit more thought of or loved
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The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from Captain Stormfield by Mark Twain: exactly, and he don't belong to the mere nobility of the kingdom;
he is lower than the one, and higher than t'other. That's about
the position of the patriarchs and prophets here. There's some
mighty high nobility here - people that you and I ain't worthy to
polish sandals for - and THEY ain't worthy to polish sandals for
the patriarchs and prophets. That gives you a kind of an idea of
their rank, don't it? You begin to see how high up they are, don't
you? just to get a two-minute glimpse of one of them is a thing for
a body to remember and tell about for a thousand years. Why,
Captain, just think of this: if Abraham was to set his foot down
here by this door, there would be a railing set up around that
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