| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from Rise and Fall of Cesar Birotteau by Honore de Balzac: pretended to open his eyes wide, and complimented the perfumer on his
perspicacity and penetration, and praised the enterprise.
"Well, I am very glad to have your approbation; you are thought one of
the wise-heads of the banking business, du Tillet. Dear fellow, you
might get me a credit at the Bank of France, so that I can wait for
the profits of Cephalic Oil at my ease."
"I can give you a letter to the firm of Nucingen," answered du Tillet,
perceiving that he could make his victim dance all the figures in the
reel of bankruptcy.
Ferdinand sat down to his desk and wrote the following letter:--
/To Monsieur le baron de Nucingen/:
Rise and Fall of Cesar Birotteau |
The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from Poor and Proud by Oliver Optic: a hearty contempt for Johnny Grippen. He was not afraid of him,
and though he never went an inch out of his way to avoid a fight
with him, it so happened they had never fought. He was entirely
indifferent to his threats, and had no great opinion of his
courage. Johnny had "stumped" him to fight, and even taken off
his coat and dared him to come; but Tommy would laugh at him,
tell him to put on his coat or he would catch cold; and, contrary
to the general opinion among boys, no one ever thought the less
of him for the true courage he exhibited on these occasions.
Johnny did not like to be told that Tommy was coming, for it
reminded him that, as the king bully of the neighborhood, one of
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The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from Charmides by Plato: Then temperance, I said, will not be doing one's own business; not at least
in this way, or doing things of this sort?
Clearly not.
Then, as I was just now saying, he who declared that temperance is a man
doing his own business had another and a hidden meaning; for I do not think
that he could have been such a fool as to mean this. Was he a fool who
told you, Charmides?
Nay, he replied, I certainly thought him a very wise man.
Then I am quite certain that he put forth his definition as a riddle,
thinking that no one would know the meaning of the words 'doing his own
business.'
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