| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from Charmides by Plato: the power of heat to burn, this relation to self will be regarded as
incredible by some, but perhaps not by others. And some great man, my
friend, is wanted, who will satisfactorily determine for us, whether there
is nothing which has an inherent property of relation to self, or some
things only and not others; and whether in this class of self-related
things, if there be such a class, that science which is called wisdom or
temperance is included. I altogether distrust my own power of determining
these matters: I am not certain whether there is such a science of science
at all; and even if there be, I should not acknowledge this to be wisdom or
temperance, until I can also see whether such a science would or would not
do us any good; for I have an impression that temperance is a benefit and a
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The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from Mistress Wilding by Rafael Sabatini: "You were a spy?" he said, his tone making a question of the odious
statement. "A dirty spy?"
"Your incredulity is flattering, at least," said Wilding pleasantly as
he repocketed the parchment, "and it leads you in the right direction.
I neither was nor am a spy."
"That paper proves it!" cried Blake contemptuously. Having been a spy
himself,' he was a good judge of the vileness of the office.
"See to my wife, Nick," said Wilding sharply, and made as if to transfer
her to the care of his friend.
"Nay," said Trenchard, "`tis your own duty that. Let me discharge the
other for you." And he stepped up to Blake and tapped him briskly on
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The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from The Purse by Honore de Balzac: At this hint the Baroness looked at her young friend and smiled,
while her face lighted up with an expression of sudden gratitude.
Hippolyte suspected that the old admiral wished to offer him the
price of both portraits while paying for his own. His pride as an
artist, no less than his jealousy perhaps, took offence at the
thought, and he replied:
"Monsieur, if I were a portrait-painter I should not have done
this one."
The admiral bit his lip, and sat down to cards.
The painter remained near Adelaide, who proposed a dozen hands of
piquet, to which he agreed. As he played he observed in Madame de
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