| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from Adieu by Honore de Balzac: shrubs sounded in the silence like the murmur of a breaking wave. In
vain they listened for other sounds; the earth was dumb, and kept the
secret of those light steps, if, indeed, the unknown woman moved at
all.
"It is very singular!" said Philippe, as they skirted the park wall.
The two friends presently reached a path in the forest which led to
the village of Chauvry. After following this path some way toward the
main road to Paris, they came to another iron gate which led to the
principal facade of the mysterious dwelling. On this side the
dilapidation and disorder of the premises had reached their height.
Immense cracks furrowed the walls of the house, which was built on
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The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne: steps, and, throwing open the leaves of the great hall window,
found himself close to little Pearl. The shadow of the curtain
fell on Hester Prynne, and partially concealed her.
"What have we here?" said Governor Bellingham, looking with
surprise at the scarlet little figure before him. "MI profess I
have never seen the like since my days of vanity, in old King
James's time, when I was
The Scarlet Letter |
The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from Gorgias by Plato: cannot be the same as good.
Callicles has already lost his temper, and can only be persuaded to go on
by the interposition of Gorgias. Socrates, having already guarded against
objections by distinguishing courage and knowledge from pleasure and good,
proceeds:--The good are good by the presence of good, and the bad are bad
by the presence of evil. And the brave and wise are good, and the cowardly
and foolish are bad. And he who feels pleasure is good, and he who feels
pain is bad, and both feel pleasure and pain in nearly the same degree, and
sometimes the bad man or coward in a greater degree. Therefore the bad man
or coward is as good as the brave or may be even better.
Callicles endeavours now to avert the inevitable absurdity by affirming
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