| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from The Elixir of Life by Honore de Balzac: father so little exacting and so indulgent; and, in consequence,
young Belvidero, accustomed to treat his father unceremoniously,
had all the faults of a spoiled child. He treated old Bartolommeo
as a wilful courtesan treats an elderly adorer; buying indemnity
for insolence with a smile, selling good-humor, submitting to be
loved.
Don Juan, beholding scene after scene of his younger years, saw
that it would be a difficult task to find his father's indulgence
at fault. Some new-born remorse stirred the depths of his heart;
he felt almost ready to forgive this father now about to die for
having lived so long. He had an accession of filial piety, like a
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The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from A Man of Business by Honore de Balzac: very evening the Count agreed to the sale of the reading-room. The
establishment, you see, nominally belonged to Mlle. Chocardelle.
Maxime burst out laughing at the idea of little Croizeau's finding him
a buyer. The firm of Maxime and Chocardelle was losing two thousand
francs, it is true, but what was the loss compared with four glorious
thousand-franc notes in hand? 'Four thousand francs of live coin!--
there are moments in one's life when one would sign bills for eight
thousand to get them,' as the Count said to me.
"Two days later the Count must see the furniture himself, and took the
four thousand francs upon him. The sale had been arranged; thanks to
little Croizeau's diligence, he pushed matters on; he had 'come round'
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The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from The Odyssey by Homer: will find no mercy from any one here, for we shall at once ship
you off to king Echetus, who kills every one that comes near
him: you will never get away alive, so drink and keep quiet
without getting into a quarrel with men younger than yourself."
Penelope then spoke to him. "Antinous," said she, "it is not
right that you should ill-treat any guest of Telemachus who
comes to this house. If the stranger should prove strong enough
to string the mighty bow of Ulysses, can you suppose that he
would take me home with him and make me his wife? Even the man
himself can have no such idea in his mind: none of you need let
that disturb his feasting; it would be out of all reason."
The Odyssey |
