| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin by Benjamin Franklin: every day. Thus, if you teach a poor young man to shave himself,
and keep his razor in order, you may contribute more to the happiness
of his life than in giving him a thousand guineas. The money may be
soon spent, the regret only remaining of having foolishly consumed it;
but in the other case, he escapes the frequent vexation of waiting
for barbers, and of their sometimes dirty fingers, offensive breaths,
and dull razors; he shaves when most convenient to him, and enjoys
daily the pleasure of its being done with a good instrument.
With these sentiments I have hazarded the few preceding pages,
hoping they may afford hints which some time or other may be useful
to a city I love, having lived many years in it very happily,
The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin |
The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from Eugenie Grandet by Honore de Balzac: centuries old are still solid, though built of wood, and their divers
aspects add to the originality which commends this portion of Saumur
to the attention of artists and antiquaries.
It is difficult to pass these houses without admiring the enormous
oaken beams, their ends carved into fantastic figures, which crown
with a black bas-relief the lower floor of most of them. In one place
these transverse timbers are covered with slate and mark a bluish line
along the frail wall of a dwelling covered by a roof /en colombage/
which bends beneath the weight of years, and whose rotting shingles
are twisted by the alternate action of sun and rain. In another place
blackened, worn-out window-sills, with delicate sculptures now
Eugenie Grandet |
The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from Pagan and Christian Creeds by Edward Carpenter: Mithra was born in a cave, and on the 25th December.[1]
He was born of a Virgin.[2] He traveled far and wide as
a teacher and illuminator of men. He slew the Bull
(symbol of the gross Earth which the sunlight fructifies).
His great festivals were the winter solstice and the Spring
equinox (Christmas and Easter). He had twelve companions
or disciples (the twelve months). He was buried
in a tomb, from which however he rose again; and his
resurrection was celebrated yearly with great rejoicings. He
was called Savior and Mediator, and sometimes figured as
a Lamb; and sacramental feasts in remembrance of him were
Pagan and Christian Creeds |
