| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from Scaramouche by Rafael Sabatini: listeners had been obscure until this moment.
M. de La Tour d'Azyr, overcome; reeled away to a chair and sat down
heavily. Losing command of himself for a moment, he took his
haggard face in his hands.
Through the windows open to the garden came from the distance the
faint throbbing of a drum to remind them of what was happening
around them. But the sound went unheeded. To each it must have
seemed that here they were face to face with a horror greater than
any that might be tormenting Paris. At last Andre-Louis began to
speak, his voice level and unutterably cold.
"M. de La Tour d'Azyr," he said, "I trust that you'll agree that
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The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from Frankenstein by Mary Shelley: as many sailors as I think necessary among those who are accustomed
to the whale-fishing. I do not intend to sail until the month of June;
and when shall I return? Ah, dear sister, how can I answer this question?
If I succeed, many, many months, perhaps years, will pass before you
and I may meet. If I fail, you will see me again soon, or never.
Farewell, my dear, excellent Margaret. Heaven shower down blessings
on you, and save me, that I may again and again testify my gratitude
for all your love and kindness.
Your affectionate brother,
R. Walton
Letter 2
Frankenstein |
The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from On the Origin of Species by Charles Darwin: preserved, accumulated, and inherited? Why, if man can by patience select
variations most useful to himself, should nature fail in selecting
variations useful, under changing conditions of life, to her living
products? What limit can be put to this power, acting during long ages and
rigidly scrutinising the whole constitution, structure, and habits of each
creature,--favouring the good and rejecting the bad? I can see no limit to
this power, in slowly and beautifully adapting each form to the most
complex relations of life. The theory of natural selection, even if we
looked no further than this, seems to me to be in itself probable. I have
already recapitulated, as fairly as I could, the opposed difficulties and
objections: now let us turn to the special facts and arguments in favour
On the Origin of Species |
