| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from The Vision Splendid by William MacLeod Raine: All through breakfast that sinister little figure shadowed his
thoughts. Gray was like a stormy petrel. He was surely there for
no good, barring the chance of its being an accident. Both of them
kept their eyes open on their way back, but they met nobody except
a policeman swinging his club as he leaned against a lamp post and
whistled the Merry Widow waltz.
But Farnum was not satisfied. He cautioned both Sam and Mrs.
Anderson to say nothing, above all to give no names or explanation
to anybody. A whisper of the truth would bring reporters down on
them in shoals.
"You had better stay here quietly to-day," their host advised.
|
The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from Lysis by Plato: I certainly cannot refuse, I said, since you ask me; but then, as you know,
Menexenus is very pugnacious, and therefore you must come to the rescue if
he attempts to upset me.
Yes, indeed, he said; he is very pugnacious, and that is the reason why I
want you to argue with him.
That I may make a fool of myself?
No, indeed, he said; but I want you to put him down.
That is no easy matter, I replied; for he is a terrible fellow--a pupil of
Ctesippus. And there is Ctesippus himself: do you see him?
Never mind, Socrates, you shall argue with him.
Well, I suppose that I must, I replied.
Lysis |
The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from The Secret Sharer by Joseph Conrad: I wanted to be seen, to talk with somebody, before I went on.
I don't know what I would have said. . . . `Fine night, isn't it?'
or something of the sort."
"Do you think they will be round here presently?"
I asked with some incredulity.
"Quite likely," he said, faintly.
"He looked extremely haggard all of a sudden. His head rolled
on his shoulders.
"H'm. We shall see then. Meantime get into that bed," I whispered.
"Want help? There."
It was a rather high bed place with a set of drawers underneath.
The Secret Sharer |
