| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood by Howard Pyle: at the corners of his mouth, "thou hast a quaint conceit.
As for the pair of eyes with which I regard thee, I would say
that they are as favorable as may be, for I hear much good
of thee and little ill. What is thy will of me?"
"Now, I make my vow, Sir Knight," quoth Robin, "thou hast surely learned
thy wisdom of good Gaffer Swanthold, for he sayeth, `Fair words are
as easy spoke as foul, and bring good will in the stead of blows.'
Now I will show thee the truth of this saying; for, if thou wilt go
with me this day to Sherwood Forest, I will give thee as merry a feast
as ever thou hadst in all thy life."
"Thou art indeed kind," said the Knight, "but methinks
The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood |
The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from The Aspern Papers by Henry James: wished both to secure me and to discourage me; to say severely,
"Do you dream that you can get off with less than six months?
Do you dream that even by the end of that time you will be
appreciably nearer your victory?" What was more in my mind
was that she had a fancy to play me the trick of making me
engage myself when in fact she had annihilated the papers.
There was a moment when my suspense on this point was so acute
that I all but broke out with the question, and what kept it back
was but a kind of instinctive recoil (lest it should be a mistake),
from the last violence of self-exposure. She was such a subtle
old witch that one could never tell where one stood with her.
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The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from A Second Home by Honore de Balzac: events worthy of record during the fifteen years between 1806 and
1825. Madame de Granville was exactly the same after losing her
husband's affection as she had been during the time when she called
herself happy. She paid for Masses, beseeching God and the Saints to
enlighten her as to what the faults were which displeased her husband,
and to show her the way to restore the erring sheep; but the more
fervent her prayers, the less was Granville to be seen at home.
For about five years now, having achieved a high position as a judge,
Granville had occupied the /entresol/ of the house to avoid living
with the Comtesse de Granville. Every morning a little scene took
place, which, if evil tongues are to be believed, is repeated in many
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