| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from The Hated Son by Honore de Balzac: impressions of unconquerable terror. He was silent, suffering great
agony. Towards evening the old seigneur, after exhausting all formulas
of language, all resources of entreaty, all repentant promises, was
overcome by a sort of religious contrition. He knelt down upon the
sand and made a vow:--
"I swear to build a chapel to Saint-Jean and Saint-Etienne, the
patrons of my wife and son, and to found one hundred masses in honor
of the Virgin, if God and the saints will restore to me the affection
of my son, the Duc de Nivron, here present."
He remained on his knees in deep humility with clasped hands, praying.
Finding that his son, the hope of his name, still did not come to him,
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The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from Four Arthurian Romances by Chretien DeTroyes: in it, too, there is joy and bliss. You are in love, then, as I
can prove to you, for I find no pleasure in any malady save only
in love. All other sickness is always bad and horrible, but love
is sweet and peaceable. You are in love; of that I am sure, nor
do I see any wrong in that. But I shall consider it very wrong,
if through some childish folly you conceal from me your heart."
"Nurse, there is no need of your speaking so. But first I must
be sure and certain that under no circumstances will you speak of
it to any living soul." "My lady, surely the winds will speak of
it before I do without your leave, and I will give you my word so
to favour your desires that you may safely trust in having your
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The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from The Contrast by Royall Tyler: A single company of English players, the so-called
first "American Company," after a long and bitter
struggle with the intolerance and prejudices of the Puri-
tan and Quakers, had attained some slight favor in New-
York, Philadelphia, and some of the Southern cities;
but in New England the prohibitory laws against all the-
atrical amusements were still in force and were rigidly
executed. The Continental Congress, while not abso-
lutely suppressing,<4> had set its seal of condemnation
against the theater, so that the most reputable and law-
abiding of our people were kept away from all theatrical
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