| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from Chance by Joseph Conrad: to tell me.
I became extremely frightened. But man, reckless animal, is so made
that in him curiosity, the paltriest curiosity, will overcome all
terrors, every disgust, and even despair itself. To my laconic
invitation to come in for a drink he answered by a deep, gravely
accented: "Thanks, I will" as though it were a response in church.
His face as seen in the lamplight gave me no clue to the character
of the impending communication; as indeed from the nature of things
it couldn't do, its normal expression being already that of the
utmost possible seriousness. It was perfect and immovable; and for
a certainty if he had something excruciatingly funny to tell me it
Chance |
The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from Statesman by Plato: or madness; too great slowness or gentleness is called cowardice or
sluggishness; and we may observe, that for the most part these qualities,
and the temperance and manliness of the opposite characters, are arrayed as
enemies on opposite sides, and do not mingle with one another in their
respective actions; and if we pursue the enquiry, we shall find that men
who have these different qualities of mind differ from one another.
YOUNG SOCRATES: In what respect?
STRANGER: In respect of all the qualities which I mentioned, and very
likely of many others. According to their respective affinities to either
class of actions they distribute praise and blame,--praise to the actions
which are akin to their own, blame to those of the opposite party--and out
Statesman |
The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from A Passion in the Desert by Honore de Balzac: attributed these lights to the reflections of his own pupils, but soon
the vivid brilliance of the night aided him gradually to distinguish
the objects around him in the cave, and he beheld a huge animal lying
but two steps from him. Was it a lion, a tiger, or a crocodile?
The Provencal was not sufficiently educated to know under what species
his enemy ought to be classed; but his fright was all the greater, as
his ignorance led him to imagine all terrors at once; he endured a
cruel torture, noting every variation of the breathing close to him
without daring to make the slightest movement. An odor, pungent like
that of a fox, but more penetrating, more profound,--so to speak,--
filled the cave, and when the Provencal became sensible of this, his
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