| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from Dark Lady of the Sonnets by George Bernard Shaw: side]._ That is what hath brought all men to your feet, and founded
your throne on the impregnable rock of your proud heart, a stony
island in a sea of desire. There, madam, is some wholesome blunt
honest speaking for you. Now do your worst.
ELIZABETH. _[with dignity]_ Master Shakespear: it is well for you
that I am a merciful prince. I make allowance for your rustic
ignorance. But remember that there are things which be true, and are
yet not seemly to be said (I will not say to a queen; for you will
have it that I am none) but to a virgin.
SHAKESPEAR. _[bluntly]_ It is no fault of mine that you are a
virgin, madam, albeit tis my misfortune.
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The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from The Country Doctor by Honore de Balzac: ownership of property, and by the growth of ideas. Time goes on and
brings changes to pass, property increases or diminishes in men's
hands, all the various readjustments have to be duly regulated, and in
this way principles of social order are established. If civilization
is to spread itself, and production is to be increased, the people
must be made to understand the way in which the interests of the
individual harmonize with national interests which resolve themselves
into facts, interests, and principles. As these three professions are
bound to deal with these issues of human life, it seemed to me that
they must be the most powerful civilizing agencies of our time. They
alone afford to a man of wealth the opportunity of mitigating the fate
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The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from Fantastic Fables by Ambrose Bierce: pointing it out to his dog, walked thoughtfully away.
The Fogy and the Sheik
A FOGY who lived in a cave near a great caravan route returned to
his home one day and saw, near by, a great concourse of men and
animals, and in their midst a tower, at the foot of which something
with wheels smoked and panted like an exhausted horse. He sought
the Sheik of the Outfit.
"What sin art thou committing now, O son of a Christian dog?" said
the Fogy, with a truly Oriental politeness.
"Boring for water, you black-and-tan galoot!" replied the Sheik of
the Outfit, with that ready repartee which distinguishes the
Fantastic Fables |
