| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from Sesame and Lilies by John Ruskin: have for their principles, their truthfulness, the fresh and pure
innocence of their daughters, the healthy youthfulness of their
lovely children.
May I illustrate this by a short example which happened very near
me? During the days of the EMEUTES of 1848, all the houses in Paris
were being searched for firearms by the mob. The one I was living
in contained none, as the master of the house repeatedly assured the
furious and incredulous Republicans. They were going to lay violent
hands on him when his wife, an English lady, hearing the loud
discussion, came bravely forward and assured them that no arms were
concealed. "Vous etes anglaise, nous vous croyons; les anglaises
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The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from Return of the Native by Thomas Hardy: you did not love me."
"How can a man wish that, and yet love on? No, Eustacia."
"Men can, women cannot."
"Well, whatever I may have thought, one thing is certain--I
do love you--past all compass and description. I love you
to oppressiveness--I, who have never before felt more than
a pleasant passing fancy for any woman I have ever seen.
Let me look right into your moonlit face and dwell on
every line and curve in it! Only a few hairbreadths make
the difference between this face and faces I have seen
many times before I knew you; yet what a difference--the
Return of the Native |
The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from House of Mirth by Edith Wharton: associated in her mind with the gradual fading of the smile from
Mrs. Peniston's lips. That lady's dread of a scene gave her an
inexorableness which the greatest strength of character could not
have produced, since it was independent of all considerations of
right or wrong; and knowing this, Lily seldom ventured to assail
it. She had never felt less like making the attempt than on the
present occasion; but she had sought in vain for any other means
of escape from an intolerable situation.
Mrs. Peniston examined her critically. "You're a bad colour,
Lily: this incessant rushing about is beginning to tell on you,"
she said.
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