| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from The Elixir of Life by Honore de Balzac: portion of the social machinery?
If the author has preserved the old-fashioned style of address To
the Reader before a work wherein he endeavors to represent all
literary forms, it is for the purpose of making a remark that
applies to several of the Studies, and very specially to this.
Every one of his compositions has been based upon ideas more or
less novel, which, as it seemed to him, needed literary
expression; he can claim priority for certain forms and for
certain ideas which have since passed into the domain of
literature, and have there, in some instances, become common
property; so that the date of the first publication of each Study
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The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from Babbitt by Sinclair Lewis: "No. We've never done anything the way we thought we would. I expected to live
in Germany with my granddad's people, and study the fiddle."
"That's so. And remember how I wanted to be a lawyer and go into politics? I
still think I might have made a go of it. I've kind of got the gift of the
gab--anyway, I can think on my feet, and make some kind of a spiel on most
anything, and of course that's the thing you need in politics. By golly, Ted's
going to law-school, even if I didn't! Well--I guess it's worked out all
right. Myra's been a fine wife. And Zilla means well, Paulibus."
"Yes. Up here, I figure out all sorts of plans to keep her amused. I kind of
feel life is going to be different, now that we're getting a good rest and can
go back and start over again."
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The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from The Economist by Xenophon: take another instance: Young dogs,[6] however far inferior to man in
thought and language,[7] can still be taught to run on errands and
turn somersaults,[8] and do a host of other clever things, precisely
on this same principle of training. Every time the animal obeys it
gets something or other which it wanted, and every time it misbehaves
it gets a whipping. But when it comes to human beings: in man you have
a creature still more open to persuasion through appeals to reason;[9]
only make it plain to him "it is his interest to obey." Or if they
happen to be slaves,[10] the more ignoble training of wild animals
tamed to the lure will serve to teach obedience. Only gratify their
bellies in the matter of appetite, and you will succeed in winning
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