| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from The Soul of the Far East by Percival Lowell: has still less notion, particularly of the natural ones. Physics,
chemistry, geology, and the like are matters that have never entered
his head. Even in studies more immediately connected with obvious
everyday life, such as language, history, customs, it is truly
remarkable how little he possesses the power of generalization and
inference. His elaborate lists of facts are imposing typographically,
but are not even formally important, while his reasoning about them
is as exquisite a bit of scientific satire as could well be
imagined.
But with the arts it is quite another matter. While you will search
in vain, in his civilization, for explanations of even the most
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The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from Black Beauty by Anna Sewell: and by mid-summer he will be as good as Ladybird. He has a beautiful mouth
and good paces; they can't be better."
"Oh, grandpapa, how glad I am you bought him!"
"So am I, my boy; but he has to thank you more than me;
we must now be looking out for a quiet, genteel place for him,
where he will be valued."
49 My Last Home
One day during this summer the groom cleaned and dressed me
with such extraordinary care that I thought some new change must be at hand;
he trimmed my fetlocks and legs, passed the tarbrush over my hoofs,
and even parted my forelock. I think the harness had an extra polish.
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The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from The Aspern Papers by Henry James: for each other we were lost in it. I used to look out for her
hopefully as I crossed the sala in my comings and goings,
but I was not rewarded with a glimpse of the tail of her dress.
It was as if she never peeped out of her aunt's apartment.
I used to wonder what she did there week after week and year
after year. I had never encountered such a violent parti pris
of seclusion; it was more than keeping quiet--it was like hunted
creatures feigning death. The two ladies appeared to have
no visitors whatever and no sort of contact with the world.
I judged at least that people could not have come to the house
and that Miss Tita could not have gone out without my having
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