| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from Dark Lady of the Sonnets by George Bernard Shaw: reproaches to his mother, even the fact of his being able to discuss
the subject with her, is more repulsive than her relations with her
deceased husband's brother.
Here, too, Shakespear betrays for once his religious sense by making
Hamlet, in his agony of shame, declare that his mother's conduct makes
"sweet religion a rhapsody of words." But for that passage we might
almost suppose that the feeling of Sunday morning in the country which
Orlando describes so perfectly in As You Like It was the beginning and
end of Shakespear's notion of religion. I say almost, because
Isabella in Measure for Measure has religious charm, in spite of the
conventional theatrical assumption that female religion means an
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The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from The King of the Golden River by John Ruskin: flickered over Schwartz's path.
Then Schwartz climbed for another hour, and again his thirst
returned; and as he lifted his flask to his lips he thought he saw
his brother Hans lying exhausted on the path before him, and as he
gazed the figure stretched its arms to him and cried for water.
"Ha, ha!" laughed Schwartz, "are you there? Remember the prison
bars, my boy. Water, indeed! do you suppose I carried it all the
way up here for you?" And he strode over the figure; yet, as he
passed, he thought he saw a strange expression of mockery about its
lips. And when he had gone a few yards farther, he looked back; but
the figure was not there.
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The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from Finished by H. Rider Haggard: served in a crack cavalry regiment, but resigned his commission
some years before. I asked him why.
"Well," he said, "I came into a good lot of money on my mother's
death and could not see a prospect of any active service. While
the regiment was abroad I liked the life well enough, but at home
it bored me. Too much society for my taste, and that sort of
thing. Also I wanted to travel; nothing else really amuses me."
"You will soon get tired of it," I answered, "and as you are well
off, marry some fine lady and settle down at home."
"Don't think so. I doubt if I should ever be happily married, I
want too much. One doesn't pick up an earthly angel with a
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