| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from From the Earth to the Moon by Jules Verne: "Hurrah!" cried one voice (need it be said it was that of
J. T. Maston). "Distance does not exist!" And overcome by the
energy of his movements, he nearly fell from the platform to
the ground. He just escaped a severe fall, which would have
proved to him that distance was by no means an empty name.
"Gentlemen," resumed the orator, "I repeat that the distance
between the earth and her satellite is a mere trifle, and
undeserving of serious consideration. I am convinced that
before twenty years are over one-half of our earth will have
paid a visit to the moon. Now, my worthy friends, if you have
any question to put to me, you will, I fear, sadly embarrass a
From the Earth to the Moon |
The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from Myths and Myth-Makers by John Fiske: imagining himself a hero of chivalry conquering single-handed
a host of caitiff ruffians. Of like origin are the fancies
that the breaking of a mirror heralds a death in the family,--
probably because of the destruction of the reflected human
image; that the "hair of the dog that bit you" will prevent
hydrophobia if laid upon the wound; or that the tears shed by
human victims, sacrificed to mother earth, will bring down
showers upon the land. Mr. Tylor cites Lord Chesterfield's
remark, "that the king had been ill, and that people generally
expected the illness to be fatal, because the oldest lion in
the Tower, about the king's age, had just died. 'So wild and
Myths and Myth-Makers |
The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from The Rescue by Joseph Conrad: Tengga's consternation appealed to Jorgenson's sense of humour
for about five seconds. Then he took up the binoculars from the
roof of the deckhouse.
The bursting of the three white stars over the lagoon had given
him a momentary glimpse of the black speck of the canoe taking
over Mrs. Travers. He couldn't find it again with the glass, it
was too dark; but the part of the shore for which it was steered
would be somewhere near the angle of Belarab's stockade nearest
to the beach. This Jorgenson could make out in the faint rosy
glare of fires burning inside. Jorgenson was certain that Lingard
was looking toward the Emma through the most convenient loophole
The Rescue |
