| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells: earthquakes and floods, wars and volcanoes, have done before
to men! Did you think God had exempted Weybridge? He is
not an insurance agent."
For a time he sat in blank silence.
"But how can we escape?" he asked, suddenly. "They are
invulnerable, they are pitiless."
"Neither the one nor, perhaps, the other," I answered.
"And the mightier they are the more sane and wary should
we be. One of them was killed yonder not three hours ago."
"Killed!" he said, staring about him. "How can God's min-
isters be killed?"
War of the Worlds |
The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin by Benjamin Franklin: me separately, unknown to each other, and, without any application
from me, offering each of them to advance me all the money that should
be necessary to enable me to take the whole business upon myself,
if that should be practicable; but they did not like my continuing
the partnership with Meredith, who, as they said, was often seen
drunk in the streets, and playing at low games in alehouses, much to
our discredit. These two friends were William Coleman and Robert Grace.
I told them I could not propose a separation while any prospect
remain'd of the Merediths' fulfilling their part of our agreement,
because I thought myself under great obligations to them for what they
had done, and would do if they could; but, if they finally fail'd
The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin |
The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from Democracy In America, Volume 1 by Alexis de Toqueville: advantages to be derived from our example: why then should she
always remain uncivilized? It is clear that the question is
simply one of time; at some future period, which may be more or
less remote, the inhabitants of South America will constitute
flourishing and enlightened nations.
But when the Spaniards and Portuguese of South America begin
to feel the wants common to all civilized nations, they will
still be unable to satisfy those wants for themselves; as the
youngest children of civilization, they must perforce admit the
superiority of their elder brethren. They will be agriculturists
long before they succeed in manufactures or commerce, and they
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