| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from Mansfield Park by Jane Austen: bitterly angry; but she was more angry with Fanny for
having received such an offer than for refusing it.
It was an injury and affront to Julia, who ought to have
been Mr. Crawford's choice; and, independently of that,
she disliked Fanny, because she had neglected her;
and she would have grudged such an elevation to one whom
she had been always trying to depress.
Sir Thomas gave her more credit for discretion on the
occasion than she deserved; and Fanny could have blessed
her for allowing her only to see her displeasure,
and not to hear it.
Mansfield Park |
The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from The Memorabilia by Xenophon: benefit these friends; do you desire to be honoured by the state, you
must give the state your aid; do you claim admiration for your virtue
from all Hellas, you must strive to do some good to Hellas; do you
wish earth to yield her fruits to you abundantly, to earth must you
pay your court; do you seek to amass riches from your flocks and
herds, on them must you bestow your labour; or is it your ambition to
be potent as a warrior, able to save your friends and to subdue your
foes, then must you learn the arts of war from those who have the
knowledge, and practise their application in the field when learned;
or would you e'en be powerful of limb and body, then must you
habituate limbs and body to obey the mind, and exercise yourself with
The Memorabilia |
The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from A Passion in the Desert by Honore de Balzac: lioness, was distinguished by a rare expression of refinement. The
cold cruelty of a tiger was dominant, it was true, but there was also
a vague resemblance to the face of a sensual woman. Indeed, the face
of this solitary queen had something of the gaiety of a drunken Nero:
she had satiated herself with blood, and she wanted to play.
The soldier tried if he might walk up and down, and the panther left
him free, contenting herself with following him with her eyes, less
like a faithful dog than a big Angora cat, observing everything and
every movement of her master.
When he looked around, he saw, by the spring, the remains of his
horse; the panther had dragged the carcass all that way; about two
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