| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas: Fontaine-Saint-George, and stopped at No. 5, where Lord
Wilmore lived. The stranger had written to Lord Wilmore,
requesting an interview, which the latter had fixed for ten
o'clock. As the envoy of the prefect of police arrived ten
minutes before ten, he was told that Lord Wilmore, who was
precision and punctuality personified, was not yet come in,
but that he would be sure to return as the clock struck.
The visitor was introduced into the drawing-room, which was
like all other furnished drawing-rooms. A mantle-piece, with
two modern Sevres vases, a timepiece representing Cupid with
his bent bow, a mirror with an engraving on each side -- one
The Count of Monte Cristo |
The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from The Boys' Life of Abraham Lincoln by Helen Nicolay: he had been invited by State and town officials, regardless of
party. The morning on which he left Springfield was dismal and
stormy, but fully a thousand of his friends and neighbors
assembled to bid him farewell. The weather seemed to add to the
gloom and depression of their spirits, and the leave-taking was
one of subdued anxiety, almost of solemnity. Mr. Lincoln took his
stand in the waiting-room while his friends filed past him, often
merely pressing his hand in silent emotion. The arrival of the
rushing train broke in upon this ceremony, and the crowd closed
about the car into which the President-elect and his party made
their way. Just as they were starting, when the conductor had his
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The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from Ion by Plato: SOCRATES: Tell me then, what Nestor says to Antilochus, his son, where he
bids him be careful of the turn at the horserace in honour of Patroclus.
ION: 'Bend gently,' he says, 'in the polished chariot to the left of them,
and urge the horse on the right hand with whip and voice; and slacken the
rein. And when you are at the goal, let the left horse draw near, yet so
that the nave of the well-wrought wheel may not even seem to touch the
extremity; and avoid catching the stone (Il.).'
SOCRATES: Enough. Now, Ion, will the charioteer or the physician be the
better judge of the propriety of these lines?
ION: The charioteer, clearly.
SOCRATES: And will the reason be that this is his art, or will there be
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