| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from Herbert West: Reanimator by H. P. Lovecraft: in later years, but which he wished to begin while still possessed
of the exceptional facilities of the university. That the tradition-bound
elders should ignore his singular results on animals, and persist
in their denial of the possibility of reanimation, was inexpressibly
disgusting and almost incomprehensible to a youth of West’s logical
temperament. Only greater maturity could help him understand the
chronic mental limitations of the "professor-doctor" type -- the
product of generations of pathetic Puritanism; kindly, conscientious,
and sometimes gentle and amiable, yet always narrow, intolerant,
custom-ridden, and lacking in perspective. Age has more charity
for these incomplete yet high-souled characters, whose worst real
Herbert West: Reanimator |
The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from Expression of Emotion in Man and Animals by Charles Darwin: less suppressed) in Orientals, and once in an elderly English woman.
In all these cases there "was a grin, not a scowl--the lips lengthening,
the cheeks settling downwards, the eyes half-closed, whilst the brow
remained perfectly calm."[11]
This retraction of the lips and uncovering of the teeth during
paroxysms of rage, as if to bite the offender, is so remarkable,
considering how seldom the teeth are used by men in fighting,
that I inquired from Dr. J. Crichton Browne whether the habit
was common in the insane whose passions are unbridled.
He informs me that he has repeatedly observed it both with the insane
and idiotic, and has given me the following illustrations:--
Expression of Emotion in Man and Animals |
The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from The Commission in Lunacy by Honore de Balzac: with famine, while his master was in court.
From four till seven in the morning in summer, from six till nine in
winter, this room was full of women, children, and paupers, while
Popinot gave audience. There was no need for a stove in winter; the
crowd was so dense that the air was warmed; only, Lavienne strewed
straw on the wet floor. By long use the benches were as polished as
varnished mahogany; at the height of a man's shoulders the wall had a
coat of dark, indescribable color, given to it by the rags and
tattered clothes of these poor creatures. The poor wretches loved
Popinot so well that when they assembled before his door was opened,
before daybreak on a winter's morning, the women warming themselves
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