| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from Salammbo by Gustave Flaubert: the rivers of the Scythians, had made their way into Colchis, and into
the countries of the Jugrians and of the Estians, had carried off
fifteen hundred maidens in the Archipelago, and sunk all the strange
vessels sailing beyond Cape Oestrymon, so that the secret of the
routes should not be known. King Ptolemaeus was detaining the incense
from Schesbar; Syracuse, Elathia, Corsica, and the islands had
furnished nothing, and the old pilot lowered his voice to announce
that a trireme was taken at Rusicada by the Numidians,--"for they are
with them, Master."
Hamilcar knit his brows; then he signed to the Chief of the Journeys
to speak. This functionary was enveloped in a brown, ungirdled robe,
Salammbo |
The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from The Poems of Goethe, Bowring, Tr. by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe: Press'd, with a blessing, his hand down on my curly-lock'd head,
While my mother carefully reach'd me a newly-made bundle,
"Happy mayst thou return!" cried they--" both happy and rich!"
Then I sprang away, and under my arm held the bundle,
Running along by the wall. Standing I found thee hard by,
At the door of thy garden. Thou smilingly saidst then "Alexis!
Say, are yon boisterous crew going thy comrades to be?
Foreign coasts will thou visit, and precious merchandise purchase,
Ornaments meet for the rich matrons who dwell in the town.
Bring me, also, I praythee, a light chain; gladly I'll pay thee,
Oft have I wish'd to possess some stich a trinket as that."
|
The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from Camille by Alexandre Dumas: enough in most instances, but in Armand's despair there had been
an accent of real sincerity, and, going from one extreme to
another, I imagined that distress had brought on an illness, and
that my not seeing him was explained by the fact that he was ill,
perhaps dead.
I was interested in the young man in spite of myself. Perhaps
there was some selfishness in this interest; perhaps I guessed at
some pathetic love story under all this sorrow; perhaps my desire
to know all about it had much to do with the anxiety which
Armand's silence caused me. Since M. Duval did not return to see
me, I decided to go and see him. A pretext was not difficult to
Camille |
