| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from The Lily of the Valley by Honore de Balzac: not wish to take advantage of you now. All that I ask is that you do
not deprive me of the right to come here, to breathe the air on this
terrace, and to wait until time has changed your ideas of social life.
At this moment I desire not to ruffle them; I respect a grief which
misleads you, for it takes even from me the power of judging soberly
the circumstances in which I find myself. The saint who now looks down
upon us will approve the reticence with which I simply ask that you
stand neutral between your present feelings and my wishes. I love you
too well, in spite of the aversion you are showing me, to say one word
to the count of a proposal he would welcome eagerly. Be free. Later,
remember that you know no one in the world as you know me, that no man
The Lily of the Valley |
The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from A Heap O' Livin' by Edgar A. Guest: An' they leaned on him in sorrow, an' they
shared with him their joys,
An' they walked with him the pathways that
they knew when they were boys.
But the heavenly angels missed him, missed his
tender, gentle knack
Of makin' people happy, an' they wanted Riley
back.
There must be great rejoicin' on the streets of
Heaven to-day
An' all the angel children must be troopin'
A Heap O' Livin' |
The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from The Atheist's Mass by Honore de Balzac: "This man centered all his affections in me; he looked upon me as
a forlorn and suffering creature, and he became, to me, the most
thoughtful mother, the most considerate benefactor, the ideal of
the virtue which rejoices in its own work. When I met him in the
street, he would throw me a glance of intelligence full of
unutterable dignity; he would affect to walk as though he carried
no weight, and seemed happy in seeing me in good health and well
dressed. It was, in fact, the devoted affection of the lower
classes, the love of a girl of the people transferred to a
loftier level. Bourgeat did all my errands, woke me at night at
any fixed hour, trimmed my lamp, cleaned our landing; as good as
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