| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane: think yeh fit th' hull battle yestirday, Fleming,"
he remarked.
The speech pierced the youth. Inwardly he
was reduced to an abject pulp by these chance
words. His legs quaked privately. He cast a
frightened glance at the sarcastic man.
"Why, no," he hastened to say in a concili-
ating voice, "I don't think I fought the whole
battle yesterday."
But the other seemed innocent of any deeper
meaning. Apparently, he had no information.
The Red Badge of Courage |
The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from On the Origin of Species by Charles Darwin: the distribution and existence of cattle and other animals in South America
absolutely depends on their power of resisting the attacks of insects: so
that individuals which could by any means defend themselves from these
small enemies, would be able to range into new pastures and thus gain a
great advantage. It is not that the larger quadrupeds are actually
destroyed (except in some rare cases) by the flies, but they are
incessantly harassed and their strength reduced, so that they are more
subject to disease, or not so well enabled in a coming dearth to search for
food, or to escape from beasts of prey.
Organs now of trifling importance have probably in some cases been of high
importance to an early progenitor, and, after having been slowly perfected
On the Origin of Species |
The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from Taras Bulba and Other Tales by Nikolai Vasilievich Gogol: resolved to send an official to him, to learn whether he really could
assist him; and when it was reported to him that Akakiy Akakievitch
had died suddenly of fever, he was startled, hearkened to the
reproaches of his conscience, and was out of sorts for the whole day.
Wishing to divert his mind in some way, and drive away the
disagreeable impression, he set out that evening for one of his
friends' houses, where he found quite a large party assembled. What
was better, nearly every one was of the same rank as himself, so that
he need not feel in the least constrained. This had a marvellous
effect upon his mental state. He grew expansive, made himself
agreeable in conversation, in short, he passed a delightful evening.
Taras Bulba and Other Tales |
