| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from Gobseck by Honore de Balzac: trying to vex my deathbed, to warp my boy's mind, and make a depraved
man of him!' he cried, hoarsely.
"The Countess flung herself at his feet. His face, working with the
last emotions of life, was almost hideous to see.
" 'Mercy! mercy!' she cried aloud, shedding a torrent of tears.
" 'Have you shown me any pity?' he asked. 'I allowed you to squander
your own money, and now do you mean to squander my fortune, too, and
ruin my son?'
" 'Ah! well, yes, have no pity for me, be merciless to me!' she cried.
'But the children? Condemn your widow to live in a convent; I will
obey you; I will do anything, anything that you bid me, to expiate the
Gobseck |
The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from The Coxon Fund by Henry James: up which made me want him to feel at peace with me--and which,
precisely, was all the dear man himself wanted on any occasion. I
had too often had to press upon him considerations irrelevant, but
it gives me pleasure now to think that on that particular evening I
didn't even mention Mrs. Saltram and the children. Late into the
night we smoked and talked; old shames and old rigours fell away
from us; I only let him see that I was conscious of what I owed
him. He was as mild as contrition and as copious as faith; he was
never so fine as on a shy return, and even better at forgiving than
at being forgiven. I dare say it was a smaller matter than that
famous night at Wimbledon, the night of the problematical sobriety
|
The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare: Iul. Now good sweet Nurse:
O Lord, why lookest thou sad?
Though newes, be sad, yet tell them merrily.
If good thou sham'st the musicke of sweet newes,
By playing it to me, with so sower a face
Nur. I am a weary, giue me leaue awhile,
Fie how my bones ake, what a iaunt haue I had?
Iul. I would thou had'st my bones, and I thy newes:
Nay come I pray thee speake, good good Nurse speake
Nur. Iesu what hast? can you not stay a while?
Do you not see that I am out of breath?
Romeo and Juliet |
