| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from First Inaugural Address by Abraham Lincoln: the Federal Union, heretofore only menaced, is now formidably attempted.
I hold that, in contemplation of universal law and of the Constitution,
the Union of these States is perpetual. Perpetuity is implied,
if not expressed, in the fundamental law of all national governments.
It is safe to assert that no government proper ever had a provision
in its organic law for its own termination. Continue to execute all
the express provisions of our National Constitution, and the Union will
endure forever--it being impossible to destroy it except by some action
not provided for in the instrument itself.
Again, if the United States be not a government proper, but an association
of States in the nature of contract merely, can it, as a contract,
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The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from 'Twixt Land & Sea by Joseph Conrad: almost deprived him of his senses by its vehemence. He lost the
power of speech, of vision. For a moment he absolutely couldn't
see Jasper. But he heard him inquiring, as of the world at large:
"Am I, then, to conclude that the brig is detained?"
Heemskirk made a recovery in a flush of malignant satisfaction.
"She is. I am going to take her to Makassar in tow."
"The courts will have to decide on the legality of this," said
Jasper, aware that the matter was becoming serious, but with
assumed indifference.
"Oh, yes, the courts! Certainly. And as to you, I shall keep you
on board here."
'Twixt Land & Sea |
The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad: of that motion I had seen--if indeed I had seen anything.
I was circumventing Kurtz as though it had been a boyish game.
"I came upon him, and, if he had not heard me coming,
I would have fallen over him, too, but he got up in time.
He rose, unsteady, long, pale, indistinct, like a vapour exhaled
by the earth, and swayed slightly, misty and silent before me;
while at my back the fires loomed between the trees,
and the murmur of many voices issued from the forest.
I had cut him off cleverly; but when actually confronting him I seemed
to come to my senses, I saw the danger in its right proportion.
It was by no means over yet. Suppose he began to shout?
Heart of Darkness |
