| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from The Prince by Nicolo Machiavelli: let us come to that which happened a short while ago. The Florentines
appointed as their captain Pagolo Vitelli, a most prudent man, who
from a private position had risen to the greatest renown. If this man
had taken Pisa, nobody can deny that it would have been proper for the
Florentines to keep in with him, for if he became the soldier of their
enemies they had no means of resisting, and if they held to him they
must obey him. The Venetians, if their achievements are considered,
will be seen to have acted safely and gloriously so long as they sent
to war their own men, when with armed gentlemen and plebians they did
valiantly. This was before they turned to enterprises on land, but
when they began to fight on land they forsook this virtue and followed
The Prince |
The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from The Tanach: Joel 2: 9 They leap upon the city, they run upon the wall, they climb up into the houses; they enter in at the windows like a thief.
Joel 2: 10 Before them the earth quaketh, the heavens tremble; the sun and the moon are become black, and the stars withdraw their shining.
Joel 2: 11 And the LORD uttereth His voice before His army; for His camp is very great, for he is mighty that executeth His word; for great is the day of the LORD and very terrible; and who can abide it?
Joel 2: 12 Yet even now, saith the LORD, turn ye unto Me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with lamentation;
Joel 2: 13 And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the LORD your God; for He is gracious and compassionate, long-suffering, and abundant in mercy, and repenteth Him of the evil.
Joel 2: 14 Who knoweth whether He will not turn and repent, and leave a blessing behind Him, even a meal-offering and a drink-offering unto the LORD your God?
Joel 2: 15 Blow the horn in Zion, sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly;
Joel 2: 16 Gather the people, sanctify the congregation, assemble the elders, gather the children, and those that suck the breasts; let the bridegroom go forth from his chamber, and the bride out of her pavilion.
Joel 2: 17 Let the priests, the ministers of the LORD, weep between the porch and the altar, and let them say: 'Spare thy people, O LORD, and give not Thy heritage to reproach, that the nations shou 
The Tanach |
The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from Adventure by Jack London: did they talk like gentlemen, despite the fact that there was
nothing offensive in their bearing and that the veneer of ordinary
social nicety was theirs. Undoubtedly, they were men of affairs--
business men of a sort; but what affairs should they have in the
Solomons, and what business on Berande? The elder one, Morgan, was
a huge man, bronzed and moustached, with a deep bass voice and an
almost guttural speech, and the other, Raff, was slight and
effeminate, with nervous hands and watery, washed-out gray eyes,
who spoke with a faint indefinable accent that was hauntingly
reminiscent of the Cockney, and that was yet not Cockney of any
brand she had ever encountered. Whatever they were, they were
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