| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from The Secret Agent by Joseph Conrad: decay affecting all things human and some things divine. She could
not help it; not to do so would have frightened her too much. But
in considering the conditions of her daughter's married state, she
rejected firmly all flattering illusions. She took the cold and
reasonable view that the less strain put on Mr Verloc's kindness
the longer its effects were likely to last. That excellent man
loved his wife, of course, but he would, no doubt, prefer to keep
as few of her relations as was consistent with the proper display
of that sentiment. It would be better if its whole effect were
concentrated on poor Stevie. And the heroic old woman resolved on
going away from her children as an act of devotion and as a move of
The Secret Agent |
The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from Essays of Francis Bacon by Francis Bacon: varietas sit, scissura non sit; they be two things,
unity and uniformity. The other is, when the
matter of the point controverted, is great, but it is
driven to an over-great subtilty, and obscurity; so
that it becometh a thing rather ingenious, than
substantial. A man that is of judgment and under-
standing, shall sometimes hear ignorant men dif-
fer, and know well within himself, that those
which so differ, mean one thing, and yet they
themselves would never agree. And if it come so
to pass, in that distance of judgment, which is be-
Essays of Francis Bacon |
The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from The Mountains by Stewart Edward White: Sang loosened the rope from the hind leg, he
threw it from the horns, he slapped the cow with his
hat, and uttered the shrill Chinese yell. So far all was
according to programme.
The cow staggered to her feet, her eyes blazing fire.
She took one good look, and then started for Sang.
What followed occurred with all the briskness of
a tune from a circus band. Sang darted for the corral
fence. Now, three sides of the corral were railed,
and so climbable, but the fourth was a solid adobe
wall. Of course Sang went for the wall. There,
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