| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from The Black Tulip by Alexandre Dumas: Haarlem Society, requesting that she may be paid the same
sum in my stead, as my sole heiress, under the only
condition of her marrying a respectable young man of about
my age, who loves her, and whom she loves, and of her giving
the black tulip, which will constitute a new species, the
name of Rosa Barlaensis, that is to say, hers and mine
combined.
"So may God grant me mercy, and to her health and long life!
"Cornelius van Baerle."
The prisoner then, giving the Bible to Rosa, said, --
"Read."
The Black Tulip |
The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from The Emerald City of Oz by L. Frank Baum: speaking there was a long period of silence while all thought upon the
curious magical power of the Water of Oblivion.
Finally the Scarecrow's painted face took on a broad smile that
stretched the cloth as far as it would go.
"How thankful I am," he said, "that I have such an excellent
assortment of brains!"
"I gave you the best brains I ever mixed," declared the Wizard,
with an air of pride.
"You did, indeed!" agreed the Scarecrow, "and they work so splendidly
that they have found a way to save Oz--to save us all!"
"I'm glad to hear that," said the Wizard. "We never needed saving
The Emerald City of Oz |
The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from A Treatise on Parents and Children by George Bernard Shaw: For confirmation is meant to signalize a spiritual coming of age, and
may be a repudiation. Really active souls have many confirmations and
repudiations as their life deepens and their knowledge widens. But
what is to guide the child before its first confirmation? Not mere
orders, because orders must have a sanction of some sort or why should
the child obey them? If, as a Secularist, you refuse to teach any
sanction, you must say "You will be punished if you disobey." "Yes,"
says the child to itself, "if I am found out; but wait until your back
is turned and I will do as I like, and lie about it." There can be no
objective punishment for successful fraud; and as no espionage can
cover the whole range of a child's conduct, the upshot is that the
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