| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from The Poems of Goethe, Bowring, Tr. by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe: And let the present be ever enjoy'd;
Ne'er let thy breast with hate be supplied,
And to God the future confide.
1815.*
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THE SAME, EXPANDED.
IF thou wouldst live unruffled by care,
Let not the past torment thee e'er;
If any loss thou hast to rue,
Act as though thou wert born anew;
Inquire the meaning of each day,
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The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from The Deserted Woman by Honore de Balzac: was one of those ironical and wayward beings who, like holders of
life-annuities, wake with an additional sense of relish every morning
to a consciousness of good health. For the rest, he was a man of the
world, somewhat methodical and ceremonious, and a calculator of
consequences, who could make a declaration of love as quietly as a
lackey announces that "Madame is served."
This brief biographical notice of his lordship the Marquis de
Beauseant is given to explain the reasons why it was impossible for
the Marquise to marry M. de Nueil.
So, after a nine years' lease of happiness, the sweetest agreement to
which a woman ever put her hand, M. de Nueil and Mme. de Beauseant
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The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from In the Cage by Henry James: girl went on, "this is the time of the year when the worst lot come
up. They're simply packed together in those smart streets. Talk
of the numbers of the poor! What I can vouch for is the numbers of
the rich! There are new ones every day, and they seem to get
richer and richer. Oh, they do come up!" she cried, imitating for
her private recreation--she was sure it wouldn't reach Mr. Mudge--
the low intonation of the counter-clerk.
"And where do they come from?" her companion candidly enquired.
She had to think a moment; then she found something. "From the
'spring meetings.' They bet tremendously."
"Well, they bet enough at Chalk Farm, if that's all."
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