| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from Summer by Edith Wharton: Crimson Rambler because she had given up boarding-
school to stay with him.
After an interval he began again: "It was a day just
like this, only spitting snow, when I come up here for
you the first time." Then, as if fearing that she
might take his remark as a reminder of past benefits,
he added quickly: "I dunno's you think it was such a
good job, either."
"Yes, I do," she murmured, looking straight ahead of
her.
"Well," he said, "I tried----"
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The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from Menexenus by Plato: much value is that of Aristotle; for the Alexandrian catalogues of a
century later include manifest forgeries. Even the value of the
Aristotelian authority is a good deal impaired by the uncertainty
concerning the date and authorship of the writings which are ascribed to
him. And several of the citations of Aristotle omit the name of Plato, and
some of them omit the name of the dialogue from which they are taken.
Prior, however, to the enquiry about the writings of a particular author,
general considerations which equally affect all evidence to the genuineness
of ancient writings are the following: Shorter works are more likely to
have been forged, or to have received an erroneous designation, than longer
ones; and some kinds of composition, such as epistles or panegyrical
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The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from Juana by Honore de Balzac: they laid down the body of the murdered man to confront the assassin
with the sight of it. She turned round and saw Diard white and livid.
The man was nearly fainting, and tried to sit down.
"Your children implore you," she said, putting the pistol beneath his
hand.
"But--my good Juana, my little Juana, do you think--Juana! is it so
pressing?--I want to kiss you."
The gendarmes were mounting the staircase. Juana grasped the pistol,
aimed it at Diard, holding him, in spite of his cries, by the throat;
then she blew his brains out and flung the weapon on the ground.
At that instant the door was opened violently. The public prosecutor,
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