| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from The Hidden Masterpiece by Honore de Balzac: gentleman gazed at a palette that was well-nigh bare. In the midst of
this poverty he felt within himself an indescribable wealth of heart
and the superabundant force of consuming genius. Brought to Paris by a
gentleman of his acquaintance, and perhaps by the monition of his own
talent, he had suddenly found a mistress,--one of those generous and
noble souls who are ready to suffer by the side of a great man;
espousing his poverty, studying to comprehend his caprices, strong to
bear deprivation and bestow love, as others are daring in the display
of luxury and in parading the insensibility of their hearts. The smile
which flickered on her lips brightened as with gold the darkness of
the garret and rivalled the effulgence of the skies; for the sun did
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The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from The Death of the Lion by Henry James: if she'd trust me with her repository I'd see that Mr. Paraday
should write his name in it.
She considered a little. "That's very well, but it wouldn't make
me see him."
"Do you want very much to see him?" It seemed ungracious to
catechise so charming a creature, but somehow I had never yet taken
my duty to the great author so seriously.
"Enough to have come from America for the purpose."
I stared. "All alone?"
"I don't see that that's exactly your business, but if it will make
me more seductive I'll confess that I'm quite by myself. I had to
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The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from Critias by Plato: the country there was also a vast multitude, which was distributed among
the lots and had leaders assigned to them according to their districts and
villages. The leader was required to furnish for the war the sixth portion
of a war-chariot, so as to make up a total of ten thousand chariots; also
two horses and riders for them, and a pair of chariot-horses without a
seat, accompanied by a horseman who could fight on foot carrying a small
shield, and having a charioteer who stood behind the man-at-arms to guide
the two horses; also, he was bound to furnish two heavy-armed soldiers, two
archers, two slingers, three stone-shooters and three javelin-men, who were
light-armed, and four sailors to make up the complement of twelve hundred
ships. Such was the military order of the royal city--the order of the
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