| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from A Passion in the Desert by Honore de Balzac: been in war in Germany, in Spain, in Russia, in France; I've certainly
carried my carcase about a good deal, but never have I seen anything
like the desert. Ah! yes, it is very beautiful!'
" 'What did you feel there?' I asked him.
"'Oh! that can't be described, young man! Besides, I am not always
regretting my palm trees and my panther. I should have to be very
melancholy for that. In the desert, you see, there is everything and
nothing.'
" 'Yes, but explain----'
" 'Well,' he said, with an impatient gesture, 'it is God without
mankind.' "
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The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from The Perfect Wagnerite: A Commentary on the Niblung's Ring by George Bernard Shaw: of The Ring is the mastery with which the dramatic play of the
ideas is reflected in the contrapuntal play of the themes. We do
not find Wotan, like the dragon or the horse, or, for the matter
of that, like the stage demon in Weber's Freischutz or
Meyerbeer's Robert the Devil, with one fixed theme attached to
him like a name plate to an umbrella, blaring unaltered from the
orchestra whenever he steps on the stage. Sometimes we have the
Valhalla theme used to express the greatness of the gods as an
idea of Wotan's. Again, we have his spear, the symbol of his
power, identified with another theme, on which Wagner finally
exercises his favorite device by making it break and fail, cut
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The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from The Case of the Registered Letter by Grace Isabel Colbron and Augusta Groner: so that I can be certain her plans will not be changed.
Graumann and I will be alone, therefore, with no reliable witnesses
near. I will keep him there for a little while with commonplace
conversation, for I have nothing to say to him. If he moves near
the desk I will upset the inkbottle. The spots on his clothes will
be another evidence against him. I will endeavour to get him to
keep my jewelry which is, as you know, of considerable value. I
will tell him that I am going away for a while and ask him to take
charge of it for me. I, myself, will take him down to the door and
let him out, when I have satisfied myself that the old servant is
in bed or at least at the back of the house. The revolver which
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