| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from The Boys' Life of Abraham Lincoln by Helen Nicolay: in the Regular Army. For a short time his zeal and activity
seemed to justify this amazing good fortune. In a fortnight
however he began to look upon himself as the principal savior of
his country. He entered upon a quarrel with General Scott which
soon drove that old hero into retirement and out of his pathway.
He looked upon the cabinet as a set of "geese," and seeing that
the President was kind and unassuming in discussing military
affairs, he formed the habit of expressing contempt for him in
letters to confidential friends. This feeling grew until it soon
reached a mark of open disrespect, but the President's conduct
toward him did not change. Mr. Lincoln's nature was too
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The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from Meno by Plato: MENO: Certainly.
SOCRATES: And the only right guides are knowledge and true opinion--these
are the guides of man; for things which happen by chance are not under the
guidance of man: but the guides of man are true opinion and knowledge.
MENO: I think so too.
SOCRATES: But if virtue is not taught, neither is virtue knowledge.
MENO: Clearly not.
SOCRATES: Then of two good and useful things, one, which is knowledge, has
been set aside, and cannot be supposed to be our guide in political life.
MENO: I think not.
SOCRATES: And therefore not by any wisdom, and not because they were wise,
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The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from The American by Henry James: Newman sprang to his feet with the resolution to return to
Fleurieres and demand another interview with Madame de Bellegarde
and her son. He lost no time in putting it into practice.
As he rolled swiftly over the excellent road in the little
caleche furnished him at the inn at Poitiers, he drew forth,
as it were, from the very safe place in his mind to which he had
consigned it, the last information given him by poor Valentin.
Valentin had told him he could do something with it,
and Newman thought it would be well to have it at hand.
This was of course not the first time, lately, that Newman
had given it his attention. It was information in the rough,--
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