| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from Reason Discourse by Rene Descartes: philosophy, can never command the realization of all their desires.
In fine, to conclude this code of morals, I thought of reviewing the
different occupations of men in this life, with the view of making choice
of the best. And, without wishing to offer any remarks on the employments
of others, I may state that it was my conviction that I could not do
better than continue in that in which I was engaged, viz., in devoting my
whole life to the culture of my reason, and in making the greatest
progress I was able in the knowledge of truth, on the principles of the
method which I had prescribed to myself. This method, from the time I had
begun to apply it, had been to me the source of satisfaction so intense as
to lead me to, believe that more perfect or more innocent could not be
Reason Discourse |
The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from La Grenadiere by Honore de Balzac: and tall grasses. The kitchen is a modern addition, proving beyond
doubt that La Grenadiere was originally nothing but a simple
vendangeoir--a vintage-house belonging to townsfolk in Tours, from
which Saint-Cyr is separated by the vast river-bed of the Loire. The
owners only came over for the day for a picnic, or at the vintage-
time, sending provisions across in the morning, and scarcely ever
spent the night there except during the grape harvest; but the English
settled down on Touraine like a cloud of locusts, and La Grenadiere
must, of course, be completed if it was to find tenants. Luckily,
however, this recent appendage is hidden from sight by the first two
trees of a lime-tree avenue planted in a gully below the vineyards.
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The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from The Exiles by Honore de Balzac: steadfastly, he believed he had glimpses of a beloved image. At this
last gate of Hell, as at the first, I saw the stamp of despair even in
hope. The hapless creature was so fearfully held by some unseen force,
that his anguish entered into my bones and froze my blood. I shrank
closer to my Guide, whose protection restored me to peace and silence.
"Suddenly the Shade gave a cry of joy--a cry as shrill as that of the
mother bird that sees a hawk in the air, or suspects its presence. We
looked where he was looking, and saw, as it were, a sapphire, floating
high up in the abysses of light. The glowing star fell with the
swiftness of a sunbeam when it flashes over the horizon in the morning
and its first rays shoot across the world. The Splendor became clearer
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