| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from The Hidden Masterpiece by Honore de Balzac: Grecian Venus, brought to light amid the ruins of a burned city.
"There is a woman beneath it all!" cried Porbus, calling Poussin's
attention to the layers of color which the old painter had
successively laid on, believing that he thus brought his work to
perfection. The two men turned towards him with one accord, beginning
to comprehend, though vaguely, the ecstasy in which he lived.
"He means it in good faith," said Porbus.
"Yes, my friend," answered the old man, rousing from his abstraction,
"we need faith; faith in art. We must live with our work for years
before we can produce a creation like that. Some of these shadows have
cost me endless toil. See, there on her cheek, below the eyes, a faint
|
The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from Heart of the West by O. Henry: and he closes it out to a syndicate outfit for a hundred thousand
hasty dollars in cash. Then he buys himself a baby sealskin overcoat
and a red sleigh, and what do you think he takes it in his head to do
next?"
"Chuck-a-luck," said Texas, whose ideas of recreation were the
gamester's.
"Come and Kiss Me, Ma Honey," sang Shorty, who carried tintypes in his
pocket and wore a red necktie while working on his claim.
"Bought a saloon?" suggested Thirsty Rogers.
"Cherokee took me to a room," continued Baldy, "and showed me. He's
got that room full of drums and dolls and skates and bags of candy and
Heart of the West |
The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from Expression of Emotion in Man and Animals by Charles Darwin: I cannot doubt, in the principle of unconscious antithesis.
This principle here seems to come into play as clearly as in
the case of a dog, who, when feeling savage, puts himself in
the proper attitude for attacking and for making himself appear
terrible to his enemy; but as soon as he feels affectionate,
throws his whole body into a directly opposite attitude,
though this is of no direct use to him.
[16] Mrs. Oliphant, `The Brownlows,' vol. ii. p. 206.
Let it be observed how an indignant man, who resents, and will not
submit to some injury, holds his head erect, squares his shoulders,
and expands his chest. He often clenches his fists, and puts
Expression of Emotion in Man and Animals |
