| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from Historical Lecturers and Essays by Charles Kingsley: Read to th' occult philosopher,
And taught him subtly to maintain
All other sciences are vain.
Such also was Jerome Cardan, the Italian scholar and physician, the
father of algebraic science (you all recollect Cardan's rule,)
believer in dreams, prognostics, astrology; who died, too, miserably
enough, in old age.
Cardan's sad life, and that of Cornelius Agrippa, you can, and ought
to read for yourselves, in two admirable biographies, as amusing as
they are learned, by Professor Morley, of the London University. I
have not chosen either of them as a subject for this lecture,
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The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from An Inland Voyage by Robert Louis Stevenson: like a bower indefinitely prolonged. On either hand were shadowy
orchards; cottages lay low among the leaves, and sent their smoke
to heaven; every here and there, in an opening, appeared the great
gold face of the west.
I never saw the CIGARETTE in such an idyllic frame of mind. He
waxed positively lyrical in praise of country scenes. I was little
less exhilarated myself; the mild air of the evening, the shadows,
the rich lights and the silence, made a symphonious accompaniment
about our walk; and we both determined to avoid towns for the
future and sleep in hamlets.
At last the path went between two houses, and turned the party out
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The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from Eugenie Grandet by Honore de Balzac: After a moment's silence, full of anguish perhaps, the old man looked
at the notary and said,--
"Life is very hard! It has many griefs! Cruchot," he continued
solemnly, "you would not deceive me? Swear to me upon your honor that
all you've told me is legally true. Show me the law; I must see the
law!"
"My poor friend," said the notary, "don't I know my own business?"
"Then it is true! I am robbed, betrayed, killed, destroyed by my own
daughter!"
"It is true that your daughter is her mother's heir."
"Why do we have children? Ah! my wife, I love her! Luckily she's sound
Eugenie Grandet |
