The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from Off on a Comet by Jules Verne: that abounded in its depths defied the angler's craft; they were,
as Ben Zoof remarked, "too much boiled to bite."
At the beginning of April the weather changed. The sky became overcast,
but there was no rise in the temperature. Unlike the polar winters
of the earth, which ordinarily are affected by atmospheric influence,
and liable to slight intermissions of their severity at various shiftings
of the wind, Gallia's winter was caused by her immense distance from
the source of all light and heat, and the cold was consequently destined
to go on steadily increasing until it reached the limit ascertained
by Fourier to be the normal temperature of the realms of space.
With the over-clouding of the heavens there arose a violent tempest;
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The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from Taras Bulba and Other Tales by Nikolai Vasilievich Gogol: received from the factory; the varnish isn't dry yet. Or here is a
winter scene--take the winter scene; fifteen rubles; the frame alone
is worth it. What a winter scene!" Here the merchant gave a slight
fillip to the canvas, as if to demonstrate all the merits of the
winter scene. "Pray have them put up and sent to your house. Where do
you live? Here, boy, give me some string!"
"Hold, not so fast!" said the painter, coming to himself, and
perceiving that the brisk dealer was beginning in earnest to pack some
pictures up. He was rather ashamed not to take anything after standing
so long in front of the shop; so saying, "Here, stop! I will see if
there is anything I want here!" he stooped and began to pick up from
 Taras Bulba and Other Tales |
The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from Euthydemus by Plato: boys?' 'The wise.' 'Then, after all, the wise learn.' 'And do they
learn,' said Euthydemus, 'what they know or what they do not know?' 'The
latter.' 'And dictation is a dictation of letters?' 'Yes.' 'And you know
letters?' 'Yes.' 'Then you learn what you know.' 'But,' retorts
Dionysodorus, 'is not learning acquiring knowledge?' 'Yes.' 'And you
acquire that which you have not got already?' 'Yes.' 'Then you learn that
which you do not know.'
Socrates is afraid that the youth Cleinias may be discouraged at these
repeated overthrows. He therefore explains to him the nature of the
process to which he is being subjected. The two strangers are not serious;
there are jests at the mysteries which precede the enthronement, and he is
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