| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from The Illustrious Gaudissart by Honore de Balzac: better make some settlement of your affairs; and perhaps you have
letters to write,--we all have beings who are dear to us. Writing
doesn't kill, you know. Are you a good swordsman? Would you like to
get your hand in? I have some foils."
"Yes, gladly."
Mitouflet returned with foils and masks.
"Now, then, let us see what you can do."
The pair put themselves on guard. Mitouflet, with his former prowess
as grenadier of the guard, made sixty-two passes at Gaudissart, pushed
him about right and left, and finally pinned him up against the wall.
"The deuce! you are strong," said Gaudissart, out of breath.
|
The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift: before, may legally be done again: and therefore they take
special care to record all the decisions formerly made against
common justice, and the general reason of mankind. These, under
the name of precedents, they produce as authorities to justify
the most iniquitous opinions; and the judges never fail of
directing accordingly.
"In pleading, they studiously avoid entering into the merits of
the cause; but are loud, violent, and tedious, in dwelling upon
all circumstances which are not to the purpose. For instance, in
the case already mentioned; they never desire to know what claim
or title my adversary has to my cow; but whether the said cow
Gulliver's Travels |
The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from Rezanov by Gertrude Atherton: would not hazard their resignation. They had
taken advantage of an imperial ukase to enter the
service of the Russian-American Company tempor-
arily, and they knew that if they evaded any be-
hest of Rezanov's their adventurous life in the Pa-
cific would be over. Therefore, although they re-
sented his implacable will, they pulled with him in
outward amity; and indeed there were few of the
Juno's human freight that did not look back upon
that California springtime as the episode of their
lives, commonly stormy or monotonous, in which
Rezanov |
