| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from The Atheist's Mass by Honore de Balzac: He did all the housework. Like Philopoemen, he sawed our wood,
and gave to all he did the grace of simplicity while preserving
his dignity, for he seemed to understand that the end ennobles
every act.
"When I left this good fellow, to be house surgeon at the Hotel-
Dieu, I felt an indescribable, dull pain, knowing that he could
no longer live with me; but he comforted himself with the
prospect of saving up money enough for me to take my degree, and
he made me promise to go to see him whenever I had a day out:
Bourgeat was proud of me. He loved me for my own sake, and for
his own. If you look up my thesis, you will see that I dedicated
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The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from The Deputy of Arcis by Honore de Balzac: of life in wishing for the impossible."
"Why impossible? Would you be the first man of the Opposition to be
seen at the Tuileries? An invitation to dinner given publicly, openly,
which would, by bringing you into contact with one whom you misjudge
at a distance--"
"I should have the honor to refuse."
And he emphasized the words /have the honor/ in a way to show the
meaning he attached to them.
"You are all alike, you men of the Opposition!" cried the minister;
"you won't let yourselves be enlightened when the opportunity presents
itself; or, to put it better, you--"
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The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from The Foolish Virgin by Thomas Dixon: down on the button."
Nance tried it gingerly at first, and then laughed
at the ease with which it could be done. She flashed
it on the floor again and again.
"Why, it's like a big lightnin' bug, ain't it?"
She turned the end of it up to examine more
closely, pushed the button unconsciously, and the light
flashed in her eyes. She jumped and handed it quickly
to Jim.
"Or a jack o' lantern--here, take it," she cried,
still trembling.
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