| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from The Forged Coupon by Leo Tolstoy: in spite of modern materialism, or even because of
it, many leaders of spiritual thought have arisen
in our times, and have won the ear of vast audi-
ences. Their message is a call to a simpler life,
to a recognition of the responsibilities of wealth,
to the avoidance of war by arbitration, and sink-
ing of class hatred in a deep sense of universal
brotherhood.
Unhappily, when an idealistic creed is formu-
lated in precise and dogmatic language, it invari-
ably loses something of its pristine beauty in the
The Forged Coupon |
The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from A Passion in the Desert by Honore de Balzac: had not strength enough to go on. Fortunately he had been able to find
a small hill, on the summit of which a few palm trees shot up into the
air; it was their verdure seen from afar which had brought hope and
consolation to his heart. His fatigue was so great that he lay down
upon a rock of granite, capriciously cut out like a camp-bed; there he
fell asleep without taking any precaution to defend himself while he
slept. He had made the sacrifice of his life. His last thought was one
of regret. He repented having left the Maugrabins, whose nomadic life
seemed to smile upon him now that he was far from them and without
help. He was awakened by the sun, whose pitiless rays fell with all
their force on the granite and produced an intolerable heat--for he
|
The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from Almayer's Folly by Joseph Conrad: severity, and general tyranny, as exemplified in the total
stoppage of gunpowder trade and the rigorous visiting of all
suspicious craft trading in the straits of Macassar. Even the
loyal soul of Lakamba was stirred into a state of inward
discontent by the withdrawal of his license for powder and by the
abrupt confiscation of one hundred and fifty barrels of that
commodity by the gunboat Princess Amelia, when, after a hazardous
voyage, it had almost reached the mouth of the river. The
unpleasant news was given him by Reshid, who, after the
unsuccessful issue of his matrimonial projects, had made a long
voyage amongst the islands for trading purposes; had bought the
Almayer's Folly |
