| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from The Firm of Nucingen by Honore de Balzac: everybody longs to have money without working for it; you may hedge
the desire about with restrictions, but the gambling mania immediately
breaks out in another form. You stupidly suppress lotteries, but the
cook-maid pilfers none the less, and puts her ill-gotten gains in the
savings bank. She gambles with two hundred and fifty franc stakes
instead of forty sous; joint-stock companies and speculation take the
place of the lottery; the gambling goes on without the green cloth,
the croupier's rake is invisible, the cheating planned beforehand. The
gambling houses are closed, the lottery has come to an end; 'and now,'
cry idiots, 'morals have greatly improved in France,' as if, forsooth,
they had suppressed the punters. The gambling still goes on, only the
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The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from Four Arthurian Romances by Chretien DeTroyes: sorrowful mood he leaves them and goes directly to the place
where he knew he would find the Queen. She had begged him the
evening before to place her where she might have an unobstructed
view of the battle; he had granted her the boon, and went now to
seek and fetch her, for he was very anxious to show her honour
and courtesy. He placed her at one window, and took his place at
another window on her right. Beside them, there were gathered
there many knights and prudent dames and damsels, who were
natives of that land; and there were many others, who were
captives, and who were intent upon their orisons and prayers.
Those who were prisoners were praying for their lord, for to God
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The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from Weir of Hermiston by Robert Louis Stevenson: "But you see I'm only Cinderella. I'll have to put all these things by
in my trunk; next Sunday I'll be as grey as the rest. They're Glasgow
clothes, you see, and it would never do to make a practice of it. It
would seem terrible conspicuous."
By that they were come to the place where their ways severed. The old
grey moors were all about them; in the midst a few sheep wandered; and
they could see on the one hand the straggling caravan scaling the braes
in front of them for Cauldstaneslap, and on the other, the contingent
from Hermiston bending off and beginning to disappear by detachments
into the policy gate. It was in these circumstances that they turned to
say farewell, and deliberately exchanged a glance as they shook hands.
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