| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from Fables by Robert Louis Stevenson: But the cries rang in his soul, and the day was like night to him.
"This has been a sore business," said he. "Let me get forth out of
the wood, and see the good that I have done to others."
He thought to leave the fetter where it lay, but when he turned to
go, his mind was otherwise. So he stooped and put the gyve in his
bosom; and the rough iron galled him as he went, and his bosom
bled.
Now when he was forth of the wood upon the highway, he met folk
returning from the field; and those he met had no fetter on the
right leg, but, behold! they had one upon the left. Jack asked
them what it signified; and they said, "that was the new wear, for
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The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from The Deserted Woman by Honore de Balzac: the Vicomtesse, in all sincerity, had no notion what it could be. Mme.
de Beauseant, in perplexity, connected Gaston with people whom he had
never met, went astray after various wild conjectures, and asked
herself if she had seen this M. de Nueil before. In truth, no love-
letter, however sincere or skilfully indited, could have produced so
much effect as this riddle. Again and again Mme. de Beauseant puzzled
over it.
When Gaston heard that he might call upon the Vicomtesse, his rapture
at so soon obtaining the ardently longed-for good fortune was mingled
with singular embarrassment. How was he to contrive a suitable sequel
to this stratagem?
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The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from The Cavalry General by Xenophon: helping, it would be a feat of arms to steal into the enemy's country,
first making it your business to ascertain[13] his defences, the
number of men at this, that, and the other point, and how they are
distributed throughout the country. For there is no booty so splendid
as an outpost so overmastered; and these frontier outposts are
especially prone to be deceived, with their propensity to give chase
to any small body they set eyes on, regarding that as their peculiar
function. You will have to see, however, in retiring that your line of
retreat is not right into the jaws of the enemy's reliefs hastening to
the scene of action.
[13] Or, "having first studied." Cf. "Mem." III. vi. 10.
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