| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from The Recruit by Honore de Balzac: man told the countess of the rumors that were floating about the town,
and the dangers to which she was exposing herself.
"For," he said in conclusion, "though some of the authorities will
readily pardon a heroism which protects a priest, none of them will
spare you if they discover that you are sacrificing yourself to the
interests of your heart."
At these words Madame de Dey looked at the old man with a wild and
bewildered air, that made him shudder.
"Come," she said, taking him by the hand and leading him into her
bedroom. After assuring herself that they were quite alone, she drew
from her bosom a soiled and crumpled letter.
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The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from The Country of the Pointed Firs by Sarah Orne Jewett: afternoon in September. 'Twas a pretty day, and there wa'n't
hardly a boat on the coast within twenty miles that didn't head for
Shell-heap cram-full o' folks an' all real respectful, same's if
she'd always stayed ashore and held her friends. Some went out o'
mere curiosity, I don't doubt,--there's always such to every
funeral; but most had real feelin', and went purpose to show it.
She'd got most o' the wild sparrows as tame as could be, livin' out
there so long among 'em, and one flew right in and lit on the
coffin an' begun to sing while Mr. Dimmick was speakin'. He was
put out by it, an' acted as if he didn't know whether to stop or go
on. I may have been prejudiced, but I wa'n't the only one thought
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The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from Philebus by Plato: logical and metaphysical works which pass under the name of Aristotle,
whether we suppose them to have come directly from his hand or to be the
tradition of his school, is sufficient to show how great was the mental
activity which prevailed in the latter half of the fourth century B.C.;
what eddies and whirlpools of controversies were surging in the chaos of
thought, what transformations of the old philosophies were taking place
everywhere, what eclecticisms and syncretisms and realisms and nominalisms
were affecting the mind of Hellas. The decline of philosophy during this
period is no less remarkable than the loss of freedom; and the two are not
unconnected with each other. But of the multitudinous sea of opinions
which were current in the age of Aristotle we have no exact account. We
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