| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from Gettysburg Address by Abraham Lincoln: But, in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate. . .we cannot consecrate. . .
we cannot hallow this ground. The brave men, living and dead,
who struggled here have consecrated it, far above our poor power
to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember,
what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here.
It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished
work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced.
It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining
before us. . .that from these honored dead we take increased devotion
to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion. . .
that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain. . .
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The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from Moon-Face and Other Stories by Jack London: into my eyes sometimes when I think of it. But never mind that. Great
happiness has been mine as well. I am glad I can talk frankly of my love for
you. And the attaining of such frankness has been very sweet. I do love you,
Chris. I love you . . . I cannot tell you how. You are everything to me, and
more besides. You remember that Christmas tree of the children?--when we
played blindman's buff? and you caught me by the arm so, with such a clutching
of fingers that I cried out with the hurt? I never told you, but the arm was
badly bruised. And such sweet I got of it you could never guess. There, black
and blue, was the imprint of your fingers--your fingers, Chris, your fingers.
It was the touch of you made visible. It was there a week, and I kissed the
marks--oh, so often! I hated to see them go; I wanted to rebruise the arm and
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The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from Democracy In America, Volume 1 by Alexis de Toqueville: [and 5,258,014 in 1890.]]
[Footnote h: The area of the State of New York is 49,170 square
miles. [See U. S. census report of 1890.]]
Since the first settlement of the British colonies, the
number of inhabitants has about doubled every twenty-two years.
I perceive no causes which are likely to check this progressive
increase of the Anglo-American population for the next hundred
years; and before that space of time has elapsed, I believe that
the territories and dependencies of the United States will be
covered by more than 100,000,000 of inhabitants, and divided into
forty States. *i I admit that these 100,000,000 of men have no ho
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