The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from Christ in Flanders by Honore de Balzac: cap nor bonnet in his hand, and had neither sword nor purse at his
girdle, and one and all took him for a burgomaster sure of his
authority, a worthy and kindly burgomaster like so many a Fleming of
old times, whose homely features and characters have been immortalized
by Flemish painters. The poorer passengers, therefore, received him
with demonstrations of respect that provoked scornful tittering at the
other end of the boat. An old soldier, inured to toil and hardship,
gave up his place on the bench to the newcomer, and seated himself on
the edge of the vessel, keeping his balance by planting his feet
against one of those traverse beams, like the backbone of a fish, that
hold the planks of a boat together. A young mother, who bore her baby
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The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from Pathology of Lying, Etc. by William and Mary Healy: We keep our border-line cases separate in order to emphasize that
pathological lying by an insane person does not make a
pathological liar in the true sense. We should hesitate,
however, to give in legal form a verdict of insanity in several
of these border-line cases we cite--they are very difficult to
classify, and the question of responsibility called for sometimes
in court work is unanswerable. Keeping even these mild cases
away from our others serves, however, to lessen confusion; we
need in this subject to conserve all the clearness possible by
holding to fundamental classifications and showing up vagueness
of definition where it does exist.
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The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from The Song of Hiawatha by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow: Beckons to the fairest maiden,
And she follows where he leads her,
Leaving all things for the stranger!"
Pleasant was the journey homeward,
Through interminable forests,
Over meadow, over mountain,
Over river, hill, and hollow.
Short it seemed to Hiawatha,
Though they journeyed very slowly,
Though his pace he checked and slackened
To the steps of Laughing Water.
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