| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from An Episode Under the Terror by Honore de Balzac: defence save Christian resignation.
The man at the door, taking silence for consent, presented himself,
and the women shuddered. This was the prowler that had been making
inquiries about them for some time past. But they looked at him with
frightened curiosity, much as shy children stare silently at a
stranger; and neither of them moved.
The newcomer was a tall, burly man. Nothing in his behavior, bearing,
or expression suggested malignity as, following the example set by the
nuns, he stood motionless, while his eyes traveled round the room.
Two straw mats laid upon planks did duty as beds. On the one table,
placed in the middle of the room, stood a brass candlestick, several
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The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from Commentary on the Epistle to the Galatians by Martin Luther: on the robe of the righteousness of Christ we must not forget to put on
also the mantle of the imitation of Christ.
VERSE 28. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor
free, there is neither male nor female; for ye are all one in Christ
Jesus.
The list might be extended indefinitely: There is neither preacher nor
hearer, neither teacher nor scholar, neither master nor servant, etc. In the
matter of salvation, rank, learning, righteousness, influence count for
nothing.
With this statement Paul deals a death blow to the Law. When a person
has put on Christ nothing else matters. Whether a person is a Jew, a
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The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from The Prince by Nicolo Machiavelli: had, and what any one in his situation would have had for maintaining
himself more securely in his acquisition than did the King of France.
Now I say that those dominions which, when acquired, are added to an
ancient state by him who acquires them, are either of the same country
and language, or they are not. When they are, it is easier to hold
them, especially when they have not been accustomed to self-
government; and to hold them securely it is enough to have destroyed
the family of the prince who was ruling them; because the two peoples,
preserving in other things the old conditions, and not being unlike in
customs, will live quietly together, as one has seen in Brittany,
Burgundy, Gascony, and Normandy, which have been bound to France for
The Prince |
