| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from The Mayor of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy: varied with the seasons, their market-faces all the year
round were glowing little fires.
All over-clothes here were worn as if they were an
inconvenience, a hampering necessity. Some men were well
dressed; but the majority were careless in that respect,
appearing in suits which were historical records of their
wearer's deeds, sun-scorchings, and daily struggles for many
years past. Yet many carried ruffled cheque-books in their
pockets which regulated at the bank hard by a balance of
never less than four figures. In fact, what these gibbous
human shapes specially represented was ready money--money
The Mayor of Casterbridge |
The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from The Odyssey by Homer: youngest daughter of Nestor, son of Neleus. And after she
had bathed him and anointed him with olive oil, and cast
about him a goodly mantle and a doublet, he came forth from
the bath in fashion like the deathless gods. So he went and
sat him down by Nestor, shepherd of the people.
Now when they had roasted the outer flesh, and drawn it off
the spits, they sat down and fell to feasting, and
honourable men waited on them, pouring wine into the golden
cups. But when they had put from them the desire of meat
and drink, Nestor of Gerenia, lord of chariots, first spake
among them:
The Odyssey |
The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from Rasselas, Prince of Abyssinia by Samuel Johnson: Every desire was immediately granted. All the artificers of
pleasure were called to gladden the festivity; the musicians
exerted the power of harmony, and the dancers showed their activity
before the princes, in hopes that they should pass their lives in
blissful captivity, to which those only were admitted whose
performance was thought able to add novelty to luxury. Such was
the appearance of security and delight which this retirement
afforded, that they to whom it was new always desired that it might
be perpetual; and as those on whom the iron gate had once closed
were never suffered to return, the effect of longer experience
could not be known. Thus every year produced new scenes of
|
