| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from The Soul of the Far East by Percival Lowell: An enthusiast has certainly a greater chance of being taken for a
god among a people who do not know him intimately as a man. So with
his doctrines. The imported is apt to seem more important than the
home-made; as the far-off bewitches more easily than the near. But
just as castles in the air do not commonly become the property of
their builders, so mansions in the skies almost as frequently have
failed of direct inheritance. Rather strikingly has this proved the
case with what are to-day the two most powerful religions of the
world,--Buddhism and Christianity. Neither is now the belief of its
founder's people. What was Aryan-born has become Turanian-bred,
and what was Semitic by conception is at present Aryan by adoption.
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The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from The Girl with the Golden Eyes by Honore de Balzac: accidents, by grave perils. The deuce! what courage danger gives a
woman! To torment a woman, to try and contradict her--doesn't it give
her the right and the courage to scale in one moment obstacles which
it would take her years to surmount of herself? Pretty creature, jump
then! To die? Poor child! Daggers? Oh, imagination of women! They
cannot help trying to find authority for their little jests. Besides,
can one think of it, Paquita? Can one think of it, my child? The devil
take me, now that I know this beautiful girl, this masterpiece of
nature, is mine, the adventure has lost its charm."
For all his light words, the youth in Henri had reappeared. In order
to live until the morrow without too much pain, he had recourse to
The Girl with the Golden Eyes |
The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from Just Folks by Edgar A. Guest: They are done with all their nestin', and their hatchin' days are o'er;
Now the farmer's cuttin' fodder for the silo towerin' high
An' he's frettin' an' complainin' 'cause the corn's a bit too dry.
But the air is mighty peaceful an' the scene is good to see,
An' there's somethin' in October that stirs deep inside o' me;
An' I just can't help believin' in a God above us, when
Everything is ripe for harvest an the frost is back again.
On Quitting
How much grit do you think you've got?
Can you quit a thing that you like a lot?
You may talk of pluck; it's an easy word,
Just Folks |
