| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from The Art of War by Sun Tzu: evils of war cannot appreciate its benefits," is distinctly
pointless.]
8. The skillful soldier does not raise a second levy,
neither are his supply-wagons loaded more than twice.
[Once war is declared, he will not waste precious time in
waiting for reinforcements, nor will he return his army back for
fresh supplies, but crosses the enemy's frontier without delay.
This may seem an audacious policy to recommend, but with all
great strategists, from Julius Caesar to Napoleon Bonaparte, the
value of time -- that is, being a little ahead of your opponent --
has counted for more than either numerical superiority or the
 The Art of War |
The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from An Open Letter on Translating by Dr. Martin Luther: else. His words, as well, are blunt - "no works" - none at all!
If it is not works, it must be faith alone. Oh what a marvelous,
constructive and inoffensive teaching that would be, to be taught
that one can be saved by works as well as by faith. That would be
like saying that it is not Christ's death alone that takes away
our sin but that our works have something to do with it. Now that
would be a fine way of honoring Christ's death, saying that it is
helped by our works, and that whatever it does our works can also
do - that we are his equal in goodness and power. This is the
devil itself for he cannot ever stop abusing the blood of Christ.
Therefore the matter itself, at its very core, necessitates one
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The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen: While talking to each other, she had observed with
some surprise that John Thorpe, who was never in the same
part of the house for ten minutes together, was engaged
in conversation with General Tilney; and she felt something
more than surprise when she thought she could perceive
herself the object of their attention and discourse.
What could they have to say of her? She feared General
Tilney did not like her appearance: she found it was
implied in his preventing her admittance to his daughter,
rather than postpone his own walk a few minutes. "How came
Mr. Thorpe to know your father?" was her anxious inquiry,
 Northanger Abbey |